The Wild Horse Thesis
by Calamity Cordite
Summary: Ranma finds himself banished into the world of Evangelion replacing Shinji's character. Can he hold the fragmenting psyches of his NERV comrades together in order to prevent the Third Impact? Wouldn't that require diplomacy?
1. Chapter 1

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Disclaimer:** Ranma 1/2 and Neon Genesis Evangelion are owned by their respective copyright holders. I am using the characters and storylines without permission. This work was not intended for monetary gain, but as a tribute to these outstanding stories.

Also, I...ahem...borrowed the concept for this story from an Anime Addventure thread and tweaked it for my purposes. I'd like to give a hat-tip to the writers who contributed to that thread.

**Forward:** _For some reason, I am compelled to toss Ranma into a Sci-fi world and see what happens. I've done so once again with this story. Please be warned, some characters are OOC with respect to how they are portrayed in the canon stories. I justify this as having vastly different interactions with the other characters. In Ranma's case, it's also because he is in a different world with foreknowledge of what is to come. If he wants to survive it, he is forced to change his ways._

_A note on Asuka: I don't see Asuka as being the same as Akane. She's way more like Ranma; stupendously large Ego, driven to be the best, etc. She doesn't hate boys. The only reason (IMHO) that she treats Shinji like crap is because she sees him as a spineless wuss that somehow manages to show her up repeatedly. Ranma is definitely NOT Shinji so she will react differently to him._

_As always, I wrote this story for my enjoyment and am sharing it with you for yours. If you are offended by Lesbian themes, polygamous relationships, minors being intimate, or harsh language, you might want to pass on this story. If you are a Canon Cop or an Agent Against Acceptance (by Ranma of her female form), you might want to pass on this story._

_I'd like to thank James R. Axelrad for his tireless cajoling and his generous sharing of his knowledge of the NGE movie storyline. I'd also like to thank my editor for putting up with the error riddled drafts I send him for editing._

**(oO\O/Oo)**

**Chapter 1**

Hikaru Gosunkugi knelt just outside a circled pentagram. Between where each of the points met the outer circle, there guttered five blood-red candles. In the center of the circle lay a stack of video tapes on top of which rested a straw doll. The doll had a piece of ragged, red silk wrapped around its torso and if one looked closely, one could see a red hair and a black hair wrapped around its head. The cover on the video tapes read 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.

It had been a week since that strange, cowled figure had given him the spell scroll, but now the time had come to cast the spell that would solve all of dear, sweet Akane's problems. He began to chant the words of the spell while moving around and lighting the incense sticks in each of the small bowls of powdered spell components.

Still chanting, Gosunkugi returned to his starting point and resumed seiza position. As he completed his chant, each of the bowls of components suddenly flared into a column of intense fire. Gosunkugi felt occult forces drain his energy as the spell performed its purpose.

Suddenly, the fires winked out as the candles burned down to nothing, leaving the room cloaked in darkness. The only sound was the would-be mage hitting the floor as he passed out from the energy drain.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

It had been three days. The Tendo home was currently hosting a meeting of people concerned with the disappearance of one Ranma Saotome. The pigtailed martial artist had vanished without a trace. He hadn't gone on a training trip, as his pack and all of his clothes and belongings were still there. In fact, there was evidence that he vanished right from his bedding since a check of his futon revealed his typical tank top and boxers laying in it.

Nabiki's network had turned up nothing. The Amazon's claimed to have nothing to do with it, although Cologne had indicated that there was a taint of magic in the room. Happosai, likewise, claimed to have nothing to do with it, citing that he would never want to get rid of his Ranma-chan. Of course, Kuno claimed he had defeated the foul sorcerer and the cowardly cur had fled from his manly presence using his dark magics. Nobody gave that any credibility.

The elders and fiancées were discussing the problem when Kasumi entered the room with a box that had just been delivered.

"What's that, Kasumi?" Nabiki asked.

"Why, I don't know," Kasumi said. "It was just delivered. It's addressed to the Tendo Dojo."

"Well, let's see what it is," Nabiki said, taking the box and quickly opening it.

Inside she found several anime videotapes titled 'Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/2' and a letter. Nabiki quickly opened the letter and read it. Her eyes narrowed as she did. Looking up at the expectant faces, she decided to read it out loud.

"To whom it may concern,

Ranma Saotome will no longer trouble any of you again. He has been banished from this world in punishment for all the pain he has caused. If you would like to view his fate, if only for closure, watch the videos and delight."

"There is no signature," Nabiki finished.

"These items have the same taint of magic I felt in his room," Cologne said, examining the tapes.

"Well, I suppose we should watch them," Nabiki said. "That might give us a clue as to where he is and how to get him back."

Everyone else agreed as Nabiki put the first tape into the VCR.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma stared at the picture in his hand. It was a picture of a woman that was beautiful enough to give his fiancées a run for their money. Written on it were suggestive statements and arrows to draw attention to the woman's assets. She also looked very familiar.

But that wasn't what Ranma was thinking about at the moment. No, at the moment he was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that the last thing he remembered up to this point was that he had gone to bed at the Tendo's and now suddenly he was on a train looking at this picture. He was shaken out of his stasis by the intercom on the train crackling to life.

"The next stop will be Tokyo-3 station," the canned voice said. "Please wait until the train comes to a complete stop before gathering your belongings and exiting to the platform to the right. Thank you for traveling with us and we hope you enjoyed your trip."

"Tokyo-3?" Ranma mumbled in thought. "This must be a dream. I'm dreaming that I'm in Evangelion. Great."

Ranma was very familiar with that anime. It was his favorite after all. That wasn't because he was particularly interested in mecha anime and stuff. It was mainly because the main character, Shinji Ikari had an even crappier life than Ranma. The pigtailed martial artist found it uplifting that someone could have it worse than him. It made his problems seem easier to deal with.

Still, it sure didn't feel like a dream. Everything was very detailed; the sights, the rocking of the train, even the smells seemed very real as the train ground to a halt with a screech of metal.

Ranma picked up the pack next to him and exited the train. A brief exploration of his belongings turned up a NERV ID card in the name of Ranma Ikari. The question of whether he still had his curse was answered by the fact that there was female underwear and feminine hygiene items in with his boxers and other clothes, which included a couple of gi, several athletic suits like the one he was currently wearing and thankfully no dresses.

Nodding to himself, he looked at the picture again. Knowing how the story went, he decided to for-go calling the number on it. There would be no line available anyway given the fact that there was about to be an angel attack. He could tell that things were following the timeline due to the fact that the streets were deserted.

Sure enough, a formation of attack choppers flew by overhead launching missiles. Soon a giant humanoid figure lurched into view, its lanky limbs lashing out to smack the helos out of the sky as it ignored the missiles and artillery fired at it.

Ranma suddenly back-flipped away as the burning wreckage of one of the helos slammed into the street in front of him. As the explosion knocked him flat, he felt the heat of the flames and the pain of the debris striking him, and Ranma began to seriously doubt this was a dream.

Ranma rolled away as a blue sports car came to a screeching halt, nearly running him over. He watched as the woman from the picture got out.

"Sorry I'm late," she chirped cheerfully. "I'm..."

"Captain Misato Katsuragi," Ranma interrupted, getting in the car, "competent Tactical Operations Officer but a ditzy juicer when not in the middle of a battle."

"Hey!" Misato protested as she got back in the car.

"Let's just go, Misato, before they drop that stupid N2 mine on the angel," Ranma said.

Misato looked at him strangely, but got the car in motion.

"You are Ranma Ikari, aren't you?" Misato asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Ranma sighed.

Misato nodded and turned back to driving like a maniac towards NERV. Meanwhile, Ranma began to think, something he was actually reasonably adept at when he chose to do so. He was thinking about whether or not he was stuck living out Shinji's story or if he could change things because of his knowledge and abilities. Recalling what was supposed to be happening next, he figured it would be a good time for an experiment.

Ranma looked over at the angel and sure enough, he caught sight of a large aircraft approaching. Looking up ahead, he grinned as he saw they were coming up to a short tunnel in the mountainside.

"Hey, Misato, stop the car in that tunnel," Ranma instructed.

"Huh? What? We have to get you back to headquarters," Misato protested.

"Just do it, Misato, trust me," Ranma said. "Unless you want to make 57 more payments on the junk heap this car is gonna be when it gets caught in the N2 blast they are about to set off."

"How the hell do you know they are going to set off an N2 mine?" Misato demanded.

"'Cause I saw the bomber comin', now stop the car dammit!" Ranma snapped as they entered the tunnel.

Misato stopped the car but she wasn't buying Ranma's explanation.

"How do you know they are dropping an N2 mine?" Misato demanded.

Ranma laughed nervously, scratching the base of his pigtail.

"Um...well..." Ranma stalled, trying to come up with a believable excuse. "W-what else would they be droppin'. Nothin' else has had any effect."

He smirked at her, proud to have navigated that pitfall. Misato gave him a suspicious look.

"Look, we don't have time for this," she said, putting the car in gear. "I have to get back to headquarters."

Just as she started to go, there was a bright flash followed by a huge blast wave seconds later. Misato gulped. Had they been out there when that happened the car would have been picked up and thrown, possibly killing them.

"Alright, we can go now," Ranma said, giving her a smug look.

"Well you don't have to get all cocky about it," Misato complained.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Dr. Ritsuko Akagi wore a wicked little grin as she stood in the elevator watching Misato out of the corner of her eye. The dark-haired beauty was currently eyeing the Commander's son indignantly. Apparently, the boy had refused to take one step into the facility until Misato had Ritsuko paged to meet them at the parking garage. He had evidently caught wind of Misato's inability to navigate through the facility.

The boy, the Third Child, Ranma Ikari, was unaffected by the evil eye Misato was directing at him. He just stood there leaning against the wall of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest and one foot on the wall looking very casual about the whole thing. It was all Ritsuko could do to keep from laughing out loud at her friend.

The blonde had known that Misato was planning on dazzling the boy by using her attractiveness to set his teenage hormones churning. However, much to Ritsuko's amusement, it seemed her plan had failed utterly and Ritsuko had a good idea as to why. There was a story about the Third Child that seemed preposterous except for it came from otherwise reliable sources. It was something that Ritsuko planned to confirm firsthand, and if it was true, something she very much wanted to study.

"So, Ranma," Ritsuko said, shifting her furtive examination to the boy who looked more like a sixteen year-old than a fourteen year-old, "I understand you have a rather peculiar...condition."

Her lips quirked into a smirk as she saw the boy stiffen in alarm.

"Y-you might say that," Ranma said trying to recover. 'How the hell did they know about the curse?'

"I can't wait to see it in action," Ritsuko said. "It sounds fascinating."

"Yeah, right," Ranma said sarcastically. "I guess it would be if it was happenin' to someone other than you."

"Oh come now, surely it's not that bad," Ritsuko smiled.

"Heh, what was I thinkin'?" Ranma sneered. "Of course it's not that bad. Why, it's great fun to have people treat you like you're some kinda freak. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside when people practically run away from me as if it's contagious or somethin'. But what's best of all is experiencin' things that no guy has a right to every month. Yup, it's freakin' wonderful. Everyone should have a 'condition' like mine."

Ritsuko frowned a little. Perhaps she had hit on a sore spot. She could also tell now that Misato was burning with curiosity. As immature as her friend was sometimes, poor Ranma was bound to be the target of Misato's teasing once she found out.

"Sorry, Ranma, I didn't realize," Ritsuko commented.

Ranma deflated some.

"Don't sweat it, Doc," Ranma dismissed. "I just get sick of people tellin' me it's not that bad when they have no clue what I go through."

"What's not that bad?" Misato chimed in, giving voice to her curiosity.

"Forget it," Ranma snapped.

"Ritsuko?" Misato prompted, seeing that she wasn't going to get anything from Ranma.

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure, Misato," Ritsuko smirked.

Misato growled in frustration, a feeling she was becoming awfully familiar with since she picked up the Third Child.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So this is the last hope of mankind, huh?" Ranma asked, as he and the two women stood before the purple head of the Eva sitting in a pool of reddish fluid which Ranma knew to be LCL.

"Correct," came a voice in reply.

Looking up, Ranma smirked as he saw the most evil bastard of all time standing in the window of a control room overlooking the cavernous chamber the Eva was kept in.

"Oh look, it's a dick with ears," Ranma waved. "How's it goin', Pop? Rape any children lately?"

The pigtailed martial artist stifled a chuckle as Ritsuko and Misato goggled at him. If Ranma's comments affected him at all, he gave no indication of it.

"Dr. Akagi, prepare Unit 01 for its new pilot, Ranma," Gendo said.

"What?" Misato squawked. "It took Rei months to be able to sync with an Eva. You can't be thinking of sending Ranma out there to face the angel."

"It's okay, Misato," Ranma reassured her with a grin. "He may be the poster child for Heartless Bastard Int'l, but he's right; the angel has to be stopped and I'm the only one available. Let's get somethin' straight, Pop; I don't like you. I think you're an egomaniacal coward with a god complex and I intend to bust your balls every chance I get. But for now, I got a job to do and people to protect. I ain't doin' this for you. I'm doing it for those people out there."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat in the entry plug as it was inserted into the Eva. He was more than a bit curious as to what someone with his capabilities could do with the giant bio-mecha. He knew a lot of stuff about the Eva, but he realized after Misato's suspicious looks on the way to NERV that he had to be careful of what he revealed that he knew. If they had any inkling that he knew what he knew, they would try their best to make him quietly disappear.

"Ranma, we will be flooding the entry plug with a fluid called LCL, or Link Connection Liquid," Dr. Akagi's voice came over the comm. "The fluid helps to absorb impacts and oxygenates your Blood more quickly. Don't panic. Just breathe naturally. Your body breathed fluids for 9 months so you'll be fine."

"You sure about that, Doc?" Ranma smirked. "I mean, knowing Pop, he may have robbed morgues and put me together out of spare parts."

"I doubt that, Ranma," Dr. Akagi replied, though Ranma could hear the smirk in her voice. "Get ready."

Ranma sat quietly as the fluid filled the entry plug fairly quickly. As it covered his head, he expelled as much air from his lungs as he could and then took a deep breath. There was some mild discomfort as the LCL filled his lungs and the stuff tasted pretty bad, though not nearly as bad as Akane's cooking, but it performed as advertised.

"Everything okay, Ranma?" Dr. Akagi asked.

"Fine," Ranma replied shortly.

"Good," the doctor said pleasantly. "We're initiating the start up procedures. You might feel a little disoriented but it will pass."

"Gotcha," Ranma replied calmly.

Ranma could feel the various systems begin to power up. Suddenly a wave of vertigo passed over him as the nerve connections were made. Closing his eyes and concentrating he could feel a large field of ki all around him.

"You've reached synchronization, Ranma," Dr. Akagi said. "You currently have a 59 percent sync ratio. Very impressive for you're first attempt."

"Yeah, Doc? I'm going to try something," Ranma said. "Let me know what happens."

Ranma reached out with his ki and began to infuse it into the ki field around him using a similar technique to what Kuno and Mousse used to infuse their ki into their weapons. The Eva's ki began to react and soon they meshed with each other. Ranma began to sense the environment around the Eva. It wasn't quite like it was his own body; more like the senses were muted to an extent, but it was certainly there nonetheless.

Now what Ranma didn't know is that when the spell Gosenkugi cast created this world, it used the information from the anime videos and filled in the rest from Ranma's mind. So many of the details that were not specifically described in the anime were filled in according to Ranma's expectations. Most important of these was the fact that Ranma believed that if he were in the original main character's position, he could have made a difference in the ultimate outcome.

Thus things like Ranma being able to mesh his ki with the AT field of the Eva and achieving superior control of it, were simply that way because he expected them to be.

"What did you just do?" Dr. Akagi demanded. "Your Sync Ratio just jumped up to 82 percent. That should be impossible for your first time."

"I'm using a martial arts technique," Ranma explained. "Once a martial artist gets to a certain level, he can infuse his ki into his weapons to make them stronger and give him better control over them, making them like an extension of his own body. I'm using the same principle here, infusing my ki into the Eva."

"What you are talking about isn't possible," Dr. Akagi said.

"Sure, Doc, whatever you say," Ranma smirked. "This is all just a dream and you didn't see my 'Sync Ratio' jump up to where it is now. Anyway, don't we have an angel to smack down?"

"We're moving you to the catapult now," Misato said.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Are you ready, Ranma?" Misato asked after Unit 01 had been secured onto the catapult.

"Fire away," Ranma's voice said cheerfully.

"The kid's got big brass ones, doesn't he?" Misato directed at her blonde friend.

"Let's just hope he doesn't bite off more than he can chew," Ritsuko replied. Misato nodded.

"Eva Launch!" she commanded.

"WHOOOO HAAAA!" Ranma's voice came over the comm as the catapult shot him and the Eva up toward the surface.

The large monitors in the control room showed the catapult reach the surface and the doors open.

"Okay, Ranma, we're releasing the locks. Take it easy. We just want you to concentrate on walking for now," Misato advised.

"Heh, no problem," Ranma smirked.

Everyone gasped as the locks were released and the Eva leapt forward into what appeared to be some sort of martial arts stance facing the angel, which had paused to assess the newcomer. Its right leg was extended forward, left knee out to the side and bent, while its left arm was extended back and held high. Ranma had the Eva's progressive knife deployed and grasped in the Eva's right hand which was held forward and low.

Misato boggled at the level of control Ranma possessed. It defied logic how he could be so good with this being his first time piloting and Eva. The kid was a natural.

The angel decided that the threat had to be neutralized before it continued its mission and began to bum rush the purple Eva. Unit 01 deftly sidestepped the rush, slashing the angel's torso with the prog knife while tripping the angel with a foot. The angel slammed down face first onto the street and slid into a building.

The stunned personnel in the control room watched as the purple Eva leapt high into the air and slammed down on the angel's back as it struggled to rise. The Eva shifted its grip on the prog knife and plunged it down into the angel's unprotected back, driving through its AT field and piercing its core. Its struggles ceased.

"Man, that almost wasn't fair," Ranma commented. "It was like fighting an untrained thug."

With a flourish, the prog knife was stowed and the Eva stood up. It had just turned to move back to the cat when the angel blew up in a violent explosion centered on a giant cross-shaped flash of energy. Unit 01 was slammed face first into a building by the blast.

"Ranma!" Misato yelled. "Ranma, are you okay?"

"Owwie," came a muzzy groan over the comm. "That didn't feel too good."

"He's okay," Ritsuko informed them. "His AT field absorbed most of the blast. Minor damage to the Eva's armor."

"Send out the recovery teams," Misato ordered.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Okay, Ranma, you can get dressed," Ritsuko allowed. "I must say you are in very good condition. If I didn't know any better, I would say you are a couple years older than 14. I guess with all the training you've done, your musculature has matured a little faster than normal."

"I guess," Ranma shrugged.

He wasn't about to tell her he was actually 17. Besides, if he recalled correctly that Toji guy looked just as old as he did.

"I find it fascinating that your other form is completely functional," Ritsuko went on. "How long have you been having menses?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked in confusion.

"When did you start having a period?" Ritsuko asked.

"Oh, well, I guess it was shortly after I got the curse," Ranma said, blushing. "I went to change back and I couldn't. Then I started bleeding. I thought I had some kind of internal injuries or something until someone explained to me what was happening. God, I've never been so embarrassed."

Ritsuko giggled.

"If it makes you feel any better, Ranma, we are all embarrassed by that particular right of passage," she said reassuringly. "It's interesting that while your female form seems to be...well developed, it seems a little closer to what one might expect of a 14 year old. Still, both forms are as healthy as your namesake in spite of the scarring and evidence of broken bones."

"The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril," Ranma quoted with a wry grin.

"I can see that," Ritsuko commented. "It also has some pretty unbelievable pay-offs apparently. I don't think I've ever seen someone who was able to run twenty miles in an hour and not break a sweat."

"Most people aren't stupid enough to go through the kind of training I was put through," Ranma quipped.

"I see," Ritsuko said. "So tell me more about this 'ki' you say you use."

"Heh, not much to tell really," Ranma said. "It's basically the life energy produced by all living things. With lots of training to build it up, you can use your will to focus it to strengthen your body, or increase your speed, or even infuse it into a weapon. I knew a guy that could focus his ki into a bokken so that he could slash through tree trunks like they were warm butter and another that could make cloth as rigid and sharp as steel."

"Fascinating," Ritsuko said with a raised eyebrow. "So what can you do?"

"I'm not too good with the iron cloth technique, but I can infuse my ki into a weapon," Ranma said.

"Well, I'll look forward to seeing the extent of your abilities. That was some very impressive piloting you did out there today," Ritsuko said. "Wait here and I'll have someone show you where the cafeteria is. I guess you're probably hungry."

The mention of food caused Ranma's stomach to roar in approval. Ritsuko gave him a little smile and Ranma blushed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"The third Child certainly doesn't seem as...passive...as you had hoped," Sub-commander Fuyutsuki observed.

"Yes," Gendo Ikari nodded from behind his steepled hands. "It seems my fool of a cousin that I paid to take him on that training trip failed to break the boy. It's amazing really. The boy must have an incredibly strong will to have survived the insane things Cousin Genma subjected him too. Not even the Nekoken training or that ridiculous curse has managed to break the boy's spirit."

"What will you do?" Fuyutsuki asked. "Your plans called for him to be weak-willed and controllable."

"It's of no consequence," Gendo said. "Rei will do as she is told when the time comes. If the boy becomes a threat before then, we shall have to remove him. Until then he is still useful to us as a pilot."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"That was SO weird," Misato said, looking through the file Ritsuko handed her. "The kid is one hell of a pilot, but he's got some serious issues."

"Yes," Ritsuko agreed. "He's definitely a mass of contradictions. His intelligence and problem-solving scores are nearly off the chart, but he has atrocious math, science, and social skills. Probably because of the fact he was raised on the road most of his life with very limited contact with other people besides this Genma Saotome who trained him."

"Yeah, I can understand why the kid doesn't like the Commander after leaving him to be raised by that sadistic idiot Genma," Misato said, while leafing through the reports of Ranma's childhood. "If the Commander knew some of this stuff was happening, why did he allow it to happen? I mean, some of this stuff is nothing but inhuman torture."

"I'm sure the Commander has his reasons," Ritsuko said. "It certainly seemed to pay off in Ranma's ability to pilot an Eva."

"I'll give you that," Misato allowed. "The kid is amazing."

"Oh, by the way, do you think you could drop him off on your way home?" Ritsuko asked.

"He's not staying with the Commander?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko just raised an eyebrow and gave her a 'you must be joking' look.

"Oh, right, he hates his father," Misato said, chagrinned. "So where's he staying?"

"He's been assigned to an apartment in the same building as Rei's," Ritsuko supplied.

"What? In that slum?" Misato demanded. "All by himself?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Ritsuko asked.

"Absolutely," Misato announced. "He can stay with me."

"Really, Misato," Ritsuko said in a teasing tone, "while I admit he's cute, he's a 14 year old kid. I hardly think it would be appropriate for you to bed him."

"WHAT?" Misato screeched. "That's NOT what I had in mind! The poor kid has never had anyone but that worthless waste of skin, Genma to look after him. I just think he should see that everyone is not like that."

"Uh huh," Ritsuko said, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

"Whatever, Ritsuko," Misato dismissed. "Where is he, so I can get him?"

"He's in the cafeteria," Ritsuko smiled knowingly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Welcome to your new home, Ranma," Misato announced cheerfully as she opened the door.

Ranma shot her a wry glance, knowing what he was going to see upon entering the condo. He walked in, but even knowing what a slob Misato was didn't prepare him for the experience. Sure enough, there were piles of empty beer cans and instant food containers strewn across the tables, counters, and floors. He expected that. What sent him reeling though was the smell.

"Gah!" Ranma twitched.

"Sorry about the mess," Misato said apologetically. "I haven't had time to straighten up."

Ranma looked at her incredulously. She said that as if there were just a few magazines not stacked up and a glass or two left out.

"This place is a pig sty," Ranma proclaimed. "And it reeks like the inside of a bar the next morning. Geez, Misato, I knew you were a slob but this is just disgusting."

By now, Misato's eyebrow was twitching and she was glaring at Ranma.

"I'll tell you somethin' else too," Ranma stated. "Once we get this dump cleaned up and habitable, don't expect me to clean up after ya all the time. I don't mind doing the cookin' since obviously that's most likely the only way I'd get a decent meal around here, but you're doing the dishes right after dinner. We can trade off cleanin' the bathroom and cleanin' the house. You take care of your own laundry. If I'm gonna live here, I ain't gonna be your maid, got it?"

Misato could only stand there with her eye twitching as the pigtailed boy picked up his pack and went down the hall to pick out a room.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Nabiki paused the tape as the credits began to roll at the end of the first episode.

"Oh my," Kasumi remarked.

"That's Ranma, alright, blunt as ever," Nabiki said in wonder. "Anyone have any idea what this means?"

"It seems obvious to me that someone has used some sort of banishing spell to send Ranma into the world depicted on these tapes," Cologne said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but for Ranma, that makes sense," Nabiki agreed.

"We have to get him out of there," Akane insisted.

"Really, Akane, showing concern for your fiancé?" Nabiki teased.

"You know how Evangelion ends Nabiki," Akane said. "He may be a jerk but even he doesn't deserve that."

"You are familiar with this story?" Cologne asked.

"Yes," Akane said, Nabiki nodding. "In the end everyone dies and the world is destroyed. That guy Gendo is manipulating everyone so he can play God and bring back his dead wife and he doesn't care if the whole human race has to die as long as he reaches his goals."

Everyone at the table except Akane and Nabiki, being the only two that had seen the anime, paled. Soun began wailing about the schools never being joined and Genma began to lament about how his dishonorable son was foolish enough to get caught in a spell that sent him to a world that slandered his own father so.

"So how we get Airen back, Great Grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

Everyone looked at Cologne expectantly. The matriarch sighed heavily.

"I don't know," Cologne said tiredly. "Firstly, we have no idea what spell was used to send him there. Secondly, chances are we would probably not be able to reverse it if we did. Depending on the spell used, a summoning spell might work to get Son-in-law back, but the risk would be severe and it wouldn't be possible unless we knew what spell was used to begin with."

"So you're saying there's nothing we can do?" Ukyo demanded.

"It is possible that after things run their course that Son-in-law will return to this world," Cologne said, but added, "if he lives through it."

"So all we can do is watch and hope?" Nabiki asked.

"What hope is there?" Akane said morosely. "You've seen the anime."

"But Ranma is not Shinji, Akane," Nabiki said. "You saw how easily he handled the third angel right out of the box. Also, this was his favorite anime. He knows what's going on so he might be able to change the outcome."

"I can't believe that jerk thinks LCL tastes better than my cooking," Akane growled, being reminded of Ranma's first time in an Eva.

"The biggest problem I see is that to change things, he's going to need allies," Nabiki observed. "And we all know how good Ranma is at making friends."

"I can't believe Ranma-honey has a period," Ukyo remarked. "I wonder who explained things to him?"

Nabiki looked at Kasumi, who blushed.

"Figures Nice-girl be the one," Shampoo said. "Shampoo no like Airen living with purple-haired slut."

This caused nearly everyone at the table to sweat-drop and someone muttered something about pots and kettles being black.

"He better not do anything perverted with those floozies," Akane declared.

"Really, Akane, jealous of an anime character?" Nabiki drawled. "I can't wait for him to meet Asuka. She's a dead ringer for his girl form and her personality is exactly the same as his; arrogant, conceited, always insisting she's the best while trying to hide the fact that she's insecure. She's going to hate his guts."

"I'll make some tea and snacks," Kasumi said. "Everyone can use the bathroom if they need to and then we can watch some more."

"Good idea, Child," Cologne agreed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Author's note:** _OMG! Wow! I can't believe I got so many reviews on just the first chapter! Thanks everyone! I just hope the story continues to live up to your high expectations. I forgot to mention it in the forward but this story is completed in its entirety. It runs 18 chapters and will be posted one chapter per day. Not that anyone noticed that I said the same thing when posting DLoM though. Everyone was just so completely impressed that I was churning out 5 or 6k high quality words a day like it was nothing when it was really the product of months of work and extensive proofing. O.o;_

_Oh and I guess I need to mention the timeline. The Ranma timeline is after Ryu Kumon, where Ranma learns the sealed techniques, but before Nodoka learns of the curse and well before Saffron._ =D

**Chapter 2**

"SHAMPOO my love!" Mousse cried as he glomped Genma. "Shampoo, have you put on weight, my love? It's okay with me, you know, that just means there's more of you to cuddle. You must have been training really hard though because you could really use a bath."

Several snickers were heard around the table as Genma's eye twitched.

"Stupid Mousse, Shampoo over here," Shampoo said in exasperation. "Put glasses on, fool."

Mousse slipped his glasses over his eyes and looked at who he was glomping.

"GAH!" the blind Amazon shrieked and leaped into the corner. He began rocking back and forth, chanting over and over, "never be clean again, never be clean again."

"What stupid duck want? Shampoo busy watching Airen in silly Vi-Dee-Oh world," Shampoo said.

"Huh?" Mousse asked adroitly.

Mousse was quickly brought up to speed on what happened to Ranma.

"That FIEND," Mousse cried. "He went there to stop that poor, devoted man from bringing the woman he loves back to life! How dare he interfere! Ranma Saotome, you are the enemy of love!"

"Riiiiight," Nabiki drawled, mistrustfully eyeing Shampoo's obviously insane stalker as everyone pulled their faces off the floor. "Let's just watch the tapes."

The gathered people sweat-dropped as they looked sidelong at Mousse and quickly nodded.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

It had been a long night the night before for both Ranma and Misato. They had spent several hours cleaning the place up. Misato hadn't been happy about it, but Ranma wouldn't let her have enough beer to get drunk until the job was done. Every time she tried to have more than one beer in an hour, the pigtailed boy would appear as if by magic and suddenly, Misato would have a glass of water in her hand. Once, he had replaced the can with an empty beer can filled with water and she nearly choked to death when it wasn't what she expected.

Ranma was still chuckling about that as he came in from his morning training session. The way she had been thrashing around on the floor clutching at her throat, one could have sworn he had fed her drain cleaner or something. After that he had relented and let Misato pound several beers while he went to the market to get groceries that didn't involve instant ramen, junk food, or booze.

Ranma entered the furo and began to bathe for the day. He shivered as he poured the cold water over his head and felt the change run through him. Washing quickly and efficiently, the redhead slipped into the furo.

After a short soak, Ranma got dressed and headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He was just setting the table when Misato came out looking like the living dead. Ranma looked her over as she stood in the doorway scratching under her breasts and yawning.

'She's definitely cute, even looking like a zombie,' Ranma admitted to himself. "Good morning, Misato," Ranma chirped cheerfully, just because he knew it would annoy her.

Misato gave him the evil eye and grunted something that probably wasn't very lady-like if it had been intelligible. Ranma chuckled at her and handed her a beer before guiding her to the table. As soon as she sat down, she cracked open the beer and slammed the whole can in one long gulp.

"YEEEE HAAAW!" she yelled as she slammed the empty can down on the table. "That's the stuff!"

Ranma just grinned and shook his head.

"So what's the plan for today, Misato?" Ranma asked.

"Well, you don't start school for another few weeks," the purple-haired captain said as she ate. "Hey, this is pretty good, Ranma. Anyway, Ritsuko wants you back at NERV for a Sync Test and to begin your Eva training. After that, she's probably going to want to poke and prod that hot young body of yours."

"Greaaat," Ranma drawled unenthusiastically.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma stood in her own personal locker room. Given her condition they felt it was best for her to have a changing room and shower all to herself. Ranma didn't mind that a bit. While she knew she could thrash any guy that got fresh with her, that didn't mean she wanted them ogling her if she happened to be in this form. Likewise, she didn't want the pain that would invariably come if they made her use the women's locker room.

Dr. Akagi wanted to get some data on her girl form today since they already had some on her male form. Ranma got undressed and pulled on the plug suit they had given her. Once she had it on and in place, she hit the control on her wrist causing the suit to conform to every curve of her body. The plug suit for this body was mostly blue with black trim, while the one for her male form was blue and white.

Ranma looked in the mirror and froze. Dai and Hiroshi always said she looked just like Asuka Langley Sohryu from this series, but Ranma had never really believed it. Now standing here in a plug suit, looking at herself in the mirror, it was pretty obvious. Ranma's hair was a couple shades brighter red and it was in a different style, but the resemblance was undeniable.

'Wonder what Asuka is going to make of having a twin?' Ranma thought to herself as she tested her range of motion in the tight-fitting suit.

Ranma performed a slow handstand before doing a split and holding herself up on the tip of one finger. She came out of the position and into a backwards walkover, displaying uncanny coordination and flexibility. The suit resisted her movements slightly but didn't actually restrict her at all. Satisfied, she headed out to find Dr. Akagi.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat in the entry plug thinking. There wasn't much else to do during the Sync Test. Searching her memory, she was dredging up every scrap of information she could recall about all the main players in NGE. She had to find a way to make inroads to those that could help her stop the coming apocalypse that Gendo Ikari and the mysterious organization SEELE was going to bring down on their heads.

Ritsuko Akagi would be a big help since she was definitely in the know as far as some of the darker projects went. She wasn't privy to Gendo's ultimate plan though. He was using her, keeping her loyal by leading her on and sleeping with her. In the end, he would cast her to the wolves like yesterday's garbage. The problem was, Ranma couldn't think of a way to convince her of this before it was too late to be of use. If she let on she knew too much, Dr. Akagi would certainly inform Gendo.

Misato Katsuragi wouldn't be much help either. She was little more than a figurehead; an altruistic poster child dedicated to NERV's public purpose. She was there to cover NERV's darker machinations and they wouldn't hesitate to eliminate her if they thought she knew something she shouldn't. The best Misato could hope for was to blow the whistle, but that would just send the conspirators into hiding, or worse, force their hand.

Kaji Ryoji might be of some use. He certainly knew more than he let on, but it was hard to tell where his loyalties lay. He was a double agent and he ultimately turned against SEELE. If Ranma could figure him out, to gain his loyalty, then Kaji would be very useful in taking down the whole pit of vipers. He could also be unintentionally useful for one other purpose Ranma had in mind.

Rei Ayanami was integral to Gendo's plan. If Ranma could turn her and then keep her alive, that would be a big help. Rei, as Ranma recalled, was cold and distant from everyone but Gendo. She was raised to be incapable of emotions and conditioned to follow orders to the letter. But the fact was, she felt more than she let on. From what Ranma had seen, Shinji had made a connection with her. She sacrificed her life for his. Ranma decided that she would have to draw her out, get her to confront the things she was feeling sooner than Shinji did. Besides, Ranma felt a sort of kinship with the repressed girl. They had a lot of parallels in their lives.

Asuka Langley Sohryu was another one she was going to have to work on. Ever since she had seen herself in the mirror, it had come home to her that what Dai and Hiroshi were saying about her being just like Ranma had really come home to roost. Aside from the fact that she was interested in Kaji and wore dresses, Ranma had to admit that their attitudes were eerily similar. The girl was driven to be the best, to prove to herself and others that she had some degree of worth.

Her breakdown, after a string of failures, paralleled Ranma's own when Happosai had used the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion on her. If Cologne hadn't offered her some hope when she did, Ranma didn't like to think what she may have done. Unfortunately for Asuka, by the time she lost hope, everyone else was too far gone to offer her any.

Ranma concluded that Asuka desperately needed a friend who wouldn't allow her to push them away. However, she also knew that she would be behind the eight-ball with the German girl from the start with her Sync Ratio being significantly higher. Asuka would be extremely jealous of that fact.

The best approach, Ranma decided, would be to be her friend, not put up with her abusive attitude, and offer to train her to be better. Not taking her abuse would be difficult while still remaining her friend. It meant Ranma would have to fight back, but not in such a way that it would completely alienate her.

Thinking of training, Ranma suddenly had a flare of inspiration. That could be the key to connecting with Rei as well. The excuse would be to improve her skills as a pilot, but in order to reach the state where she would be able to use Ranma's Sync boosting technique, she would have to confront her emotions and be aware of them.

The others, Ranma would have to work on slowly and carefully. She would plant the seeds of doubt in their minds and cultivate them, hopefully they would bear fruit before it was too late. Rei, she could start on almost immediately.

"That's excellent, Ranma," Dr. Akagi said over the comm. "Your Sync Ratio is steady at 64 percent. Try the technique you used the first time."

"You got it," Ranma replied and began the boosting techniques.

"Fascinating," Dr. Akagi said, the wonder clear in her voice. "Your Sync Ratio just jumped to 87 percent. That's incredible."

"Just takes trainin'," Ranma commented.

"If you say so, Ranma," Dr. Akagi laughed lightly. "Okay, we're done. When you get out, go change forms and we'll test your male side and see if there's any variance."

"Roger," Ranma acknowledged.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma had only dropped a couple of points between his male side and female side, which was within the tolerance of the equipment so it was deemed negligible. Currently, he was in the holochamber for his second week of gunnery practice.

As he practiced, something was bugging him. He was trying to pin down what it was as he moved around the chamber shooting at the targets that popped up. As he laid waste to three targets in rapid succession, it hit him. There was only one incident he could recall where the guns the Eva's had available were actually effective.

He had to talk to Dr. Akagi about this to explore some other alternatives, but unfortunately he had to do so in such a way as to not alert her to his foreknowledge. He spent the rest of the practice session trying to think of a way to do it.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Dr. Akagi?" Ritsuko looked up to see the pigtailed boy enter her office.

Ranma was still in his plug suit which was causing quite a distraction with the female population of NERV. Ritsuko grinned, remembering the female techs all crowded around a monitor watching Ranma. He was definitely a little heart breaker.

"Yes? What can I do for you, Ranma?" Ritsuko asked, gesturing for him to take a seat.

"I've been thinking, our guns for the Evas, they are basically just conventional artillery adapted into Eva-sized small arms, aren't they?" Ranma asked pensively.

Ritsuko blinked.

"Yes, I suppose that's true," she allowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that all the conventional artillery that was thrown at the last angel didn't even scratch it," Ranma posed. "Since our guns are adapted from that artillery, it seems like to me that the only really effective weapon we have is the prog knife and my hand-to-hand skill."

Ritsuko gaped at the pigtailed pilot. She suddenly had a sinking feeling that he was right.

"I...see," Ritsuko said hesitantly. "So what are you suggesting?"

"Well, I do have some ideas," Ranma grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I was thinking that since the prog knife is effective, at least it was on the angel I fought, we could expand on that and come up with a progressive katana, or a progressive naginata or something. The pole arm would give us a little more range, but the sword would be better for fighting in the streets. Do you think we could get some things like that?"

"Ranma, for someone with as little education as you have, you amaze me," Ritsuko said in surprise.

"I know fighting, Dr. Akagi," Ranma shrugged. "I may not know much else, but I do know fighting and it's what I'm best at."

"I don't doubt it," Ritsuko said, giving him a grin. "I'll pass your idea along to R&D with my recommendation. It shouldn't be hard to come up with something that fits the bill. Now why don't you get changed and I'll give you some more computer lessons."

Ranma groaned and rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat quietly in the car that night as he caught a ride with Misato. He was thinking about his last words with Dr. Akagi, hoping that he didn't push her too hard.

"Be careful around my Pop, Dr. Akagi," Ranma had told her.

"Why?" She had asked with that amused little grin she had.

"Because he's a manipulative bastard with a god complex that gets off on toying with people's feelings and loyalties," Ranma explained. "He may appear to be helping save the world, but the old fart doesn't have an altruistic bone in his body. He's up to something, whether it's setting himself up to take over the world with an army of mindlessly loyal Eva's, or something worse, I know it in my gut. When the shit hits the fan, it'll be the people closest to him that get thrown to the wolves. You seem like a real nice person, Doc, and I would hate to see that happen to you."

Hopefully the hints were close enough to home that it would make the blonde woman think with more than her libido and not make her too suspicious of just what Ranma knew exactly.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Ranma?" Misato asked.

Ranma looked over at her and smiled.

"Oh, just wondering if you would teach me how to drive," Ranma said casually.

Misato grinned like a maniac, which happened to match her driving to a tee.

"You really want me to teach you how to drive?" Misato asked hopefully.

"Hell yeah," Ranma smirked. "You're the best driver I've ridden with."

She was the only driver he'd ridden with but she didn't have to know that. Besides, her driving style seemed to have an aggressive flair that other drivers seemed to lack. Ranma thought it suited his own style nicely, always pushing the envelope. Riding with Misato was fun. He really didn't understand why people paled and ran screaming when faced with the prospect of being in the car with her driving.

"I dunno, Ranma. You're only fourteen after all," Misato hedged.

"Misato, I drive a 200 foot mecha around fighting angels, I think I can probably be trusted with a 2000 pound car," Ranma argued.

"What's it worth to ya?" Misato asked.

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

"Driving lessons. What are they worth to you? If I agree, what do I get out of it?" she smirked.

"What do ya want?" Ranma countered.

"Laundry," Misato said.

"Not a chance. No way I'm washin' your panties," Ranma declined. "How about for every lesson with me behind the wheel, I take your turn vacuuming."

"Dream on," Misato said laughed. "Same deal, except you take my turn cleaning the bathroom."

"Don't think so," Ranma shook his head. "How about I do the dishes every night until the lessons are over?"

He usually had to do dishes anyway since Misato was usually too drunk by that time to do a good job.

"Deal," Misato grinned. "We'll start this weekend."

"Right," Ranma agreed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Class, we have a new student today," the homeroom teacher, Bendo Steinakawa said in a lethargic monotone. "Would you please introduce yourself?" the teacher said, putting several people to sleep in 12 words or less.

"Yo!" Ranma said loudly, jarring the sleeping students from their induced somnolence. "My name is Ranma Ikari. I'm a martial artist. I just came back from a ten year training trip that included traveling most of Asia. My dad is an evil bastard that plans to take over the world, but currently he's only gotten so far as running NERV. That's about all I got to say...oh wait, if you happen to see a petite healthy redhead running around, don't bother her; she's my sister. She ain't into guys and after she beats you down, I'll find you and take my turn, got it?"

Ranma punctuated his statement by cracking his knuckles. As there was only one kid in the class that was bigger than him, and then not by much, the guys all flinched and nodded.

"Great," Steinakawa-sensei said lethargically. "If you could have a seat in any available desk Ikari-san, we'll get started on our lecture. Today we will be covering the Second Impact."

Three quarters of the class was asleep before he got half way through those three sentences. Ranma looked around the room and spotted Rei Ayanami right where he expected her to be. He moved to the desk behind her and sat down.

"We gotta talk later, Ayanami-san," Ranma whispered to her.

The blue-haired girl nodded imperceptibly and continued to stare out the window. Ranma for his part never had a chance. Within five minutes of listening to the indolent teacher and his languid speech sucking the energy from the room, Ranma was comatose.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma woke up to someone poking his shoulder. He picked his head up to notice that it must have been the break between classes since everyone was up and walking around. Then he noticed the three girls clustered around his desk.

"Excuse me, Ikari-san," the more outgoing of them said. "We were wondering; are you the pilot of the giant robot?"

Ranma blinked at them.

"Well, are you?" one of the other girls prompted.

Ranma sighed in resignation because he knew what was coming next.

"Yes," Ranma admitted, and as he expected he was instantly swamped with other students peppering him with questions.

There were only three students that didn't seem to care about asking him all sorts of inane questions about the Eva; Rei, Hikari the Class Rep, and the large guy that Ranma pegged as Toji. Ranma knew this was the guy that planned on trying to feed him a knuckle sandwich later. Ranma felt for the guy and his sister, but Ranma wasn't about to let Toji take his frustrations out on him.

Ranma was eventually saved from the inquisition by the next teacher coming in and calling the class to order.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Once again, Ranma was awoken to someone tapping him on the shoulder. Ranma looked up to see Rei's heavily bandaged regard.

"Pilot Ikari, it is lunch time," she said mechanically. "This would be an acceptable time for you to speak with me."

"Um, right," Ranma said, taking out his bento. "I just wanted to get to know you a little better. I thought maybe since we have to work together that we could be friends."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Why not?" Ranma asked. "Look, Rei, bein' friends and getting to know each other will help us work together better."

"How?" Rei asked.

"Okay, first, we will get an idea of each others strengths and weaknesses," Ranma explained. "And we will have an idea how the other might react to any situation so we can move to support each other faster in a fight by anticipatin' how the other will react."

"Being friends with you will make me a better pilot?" Rei asked in a tone devoid of emotion.

"Maybe," Ranma nodded. "If you want I could even train you in the art. My trainin' helped me a lot when I fought that angel."

"I reviewed the recording of your battle and you are an adequate pilot," Rei conceded, causing Ranma's eye to twitch at being called 'adequate'. "However, if having a friend was necessary to be a better pilot, then the Commander would have assigned me one."

Ranma put his face in his palm and shook his head.

"Rei, Pop might know a lot of things but he doesn't know shit about being a warrior," Ranma said. "All he knows is how to bully and use people."

"He is a great man," Rei argued, her tone still not betraying a hint of emotion.

"Don't make me laugh," Ranma snorted. "He's a pathetic, self-centered, evil bastard. To call him a snake is an insult to snakes everywhere. You just don't know any better because he's kept you isolated from other people to keep you from seeing what he really is."

"He is the Commander, he deserves respect," Rei countered.

"Respect is earned, Rei," Ranma argued. "Just because someone managed to lie and manipulate their way into a position of power don't make them worthy of respect."

"Why?" Rei queried.

"Because people who are worthy of respect, respect others and try to help them," Ranma explained. "Pop has no respect for anyone except as far as their abilities to help him or hinder him from gettin' what he wants."

"Commander Ikari wishes to help all people," Rei asserted.

"Does he really, Rei?" Ranma asked. "Or does he want to use them to achieve his goals no matter what it may cost the people around him in the end?"

Rei blinked at that. Ranma knew that she was, by necessity, privy to Gendo's ultimate plan, being a key part of it.

"Anyway, that's all beside the point," Ranma said. "I wanna be your friend and help you become a better pilot. What'd ya say?"

"Your offer does appear to have merit," Rei allowed. "I shall have to consider it."

"Fair enough," Ranma nodded. "You let me know when you're ready to begin training."

"Affirmative," Rei said, turning back to her own bento.

Smirking, Ranma quickly finished his bento and headed out of the classroom. He had an appointment with a certain angry jock.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hey, New Kid!" Ranma smirked as he heard the expected challenge and turned.

"Me?" Ranma asked innocently.

"You see any other new kids around here?" the large jock retorted.

"Whatcha want?" Ranma asked.

"Because of your joy ride in your little toy, my sister's in the hospital," Toji stated. "Nothing personal, but it's my duty as her brother to kick your ass."

Ranma rolled his eyes as Toji cracked his knuckles.

"'Kay, take your best shot, Tough Guy," Ranma said, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting.

Toji shrugged and charged in with a haymaker he was certain would put the guy down. Ranma turned his head with the blow and having fought some of the most powerful people in his world, he barely felt Toji's untrained punch. Toji blinked as Ranma didn't even sway with the blow, just turned his head back to look at the larger boy.

"That all ya got, Cupcake? 'Cause to be honest, I've seen little old ladies that could hit harder than that," Ranma observed.

Both Toji and his friend blinked in disbelief, but the jock quickly recovered and growled, pulling his fist back for another punch. Ranma redirected the punch, snagging Toji's wrist and spinning him around. Toji found his right arm bent behind his head, his elbow sticking straight up, while Ranma hooked his free arm through Toji's left. Transferring his grip on Toji's wrist to the arm hooked through the larger boy's left arm, Ranma grabbed the jock around the throat, pulling him down and back, off balance with no leverage.

"Listen up, Cupcake," Ranma said causally. "I feel really bad about your sister, I really do. And I understand you're angry because you couldn't protect her. You gotta use your head for something more than a hat rack though. If I hadn't fought that angel, your sister, you, your buddy over there, everyone in this city, if not the world, would be dead, not just injured. I didn't choose where to fight that thing, it did. Be angry at the monster, not the guy that saved your sorry hide. Besides, you got about as much chance of hurting me as you do the stupid monster, so I guess you better find an easier target to take your frustrations out on, got it?"

"Pilot Ikari, another angel has been detected," Rei said, arriving on cue. "We are to meet Captain Katsuragi in front of the school to be taken to headquarters."

As Rei took off, Ranma stood Toji up and released him.

"Sorry, love to stay and chat, but I got a city to save," Ranma said, patting the larger boy on the shoulder. "You guys better get to a shelter."

Toji and Kensuke gaped as Ranma leapt up, bouncing off a second story window ledge and then onto the roof of the school and disappearing from their sight.

"It's probably not a good idea for you to pick any more fights with him, Toji," Kensuke opined.

Toji, still wide-eyed in awe, shook his head rapidly. One minute he was taking a swing at the guy and the next, he was locked up and powerless, at the guy's mercy and not even knowing how it happened. This Ranma Ikari was definitely not someone any sane person wanted to tangle with. Beside, he said he felt bad about Toji's sister and had given him a free shot, and maybe he was right about saving everyone, so far be it from Toji Suzuhara not to forgive and forget. Yup, he had meted out his retribution on the guy, so he could let it go. No need to beat on the guy any more.

"L-let's get to the shelter," Toji said, grabbing Kensuke by his shirt and dragging him off as the sirens began to sound.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Ranma! Prepare to die!" Ryoga yelled as he burst into the room causing Nabiki to roll her eyes and pause the tape.

"You Jackass, Ranma-honey ain't here!" Ukyo snapped.

"Huh?" Ryoga looked around, confused. "But I just heard him."

"That's because some Jackass used a spell on him to trap him in these video tapes," Ukyo explained. "We are watching what he's doing in that world."

"Huh?" Ryoga said intelligently.

"Oh my, perhaps while somebody explains things, I'll go start dinner. We can watch the next episode afterward," Kasumi suggested.

"Wonderful idea, Kasumi," Soun said.

"Quite right, Tendo," Genma agreed, though he was still a bit miffed at the slanderous misinterpretations of his actions the show seemed overly fond of pointing out.

"I'll give ya a hand, Kasumi," Ukyo offered, getting up and following the oldest Tendo sister into the kitchen.

While dinner was being prepared, Nabiki explained to Ryoga what had happened, for a suitable fee of course. Ryoga listened to the story with a growing sense of joy. Finally, someone had gotten that cowardly bastard Ranma out of the way! Now there was nothing standing between him and dear, sweet Akane!

"So let me get this straight, Ranma was banished into this Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, where he is fighting these things called angels, but in the end, it's all for nothing because the world gets destroyed and everybody gets dissolved into goo anyway?" Ryoga asked.

"Well, we don't know for sure," Nabiki said. "That's how the original anime ended, but Ranma has already changed a few minor things, so he might be able to stop the apocalypse. This was his favorite anime so he knows what's supposed to happen. He just has to use that knowledge to stop things from happening that way. It's a long shot though. There's a lot of things stacked against him."

"I see," Ryoga said, beginning to chortle. "So it's a big possibility that Ranma will die in the end? And nobody knows how to bring him back?"

"Pretty much," Nabiki admitted.

"Oh happy day!" Ryoga crowed and started laughing hysterically. "Finally, someone has managed to rid the world of that honorless coward! This is such wonderful news...erk!"

Ryoga's celebration was cut short by way of a bonbori and a battle spatula applied to his head repeatedly.

"Pig-boy no talk about Airen like that," Shampoo said.

"Yeah, Sugar, you got a lot of room to talk about being honorless," Ukyo added after she returned to the room with some dishes to set the table just as Ryoga began his squeals of joy.

Akane had refrained from malleting him due to the fact that she thought of him as a friend, however, she was giving him a speculative look. She had thought that deep down, Ryoga was Ranma's friend. After all he always tried to help Ranma find a cure for his curse, in spite of the fact that Ranma was always picking on him. However, Ryoga's outburst of joy at what had happened was definitely not the reaction of a friend.

Akane's look darkened as she began reviewing Ryoga's various encounters with Ranma in this new light.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**AN:** _Did anyone catch the joke with the school teacher's name in the previous chapter? Anyone? Anyone?_

**Chapter 3**

Throughout dinner, discussions were held about what they had seen on the video and those that knew the story were telling the others what was going to be facing Ranma in the later episodes. It was Kasumi that made an observation that guaranteed the fiancées would be an avid audience, that being that the audience was privy to Ranma's inner thoughts many times. The chance that Ranma would inadvertently reveal his true thoughts of them ensured they wouldn't miss a minute of the show that had become the pigtailed martial artist's life.

Throughout dinner, Akane gave Ryoga the evil eye, though the bandana'd boy appeared oblivious to this, looking away every time her head turned in his direction. For Ryoga's part, he was desperately trying to work up the courage to ask Akane for a date now that his hated nemesis was out of the picture. Finally, as the dishes were being cleared, Ryoga managed to work up his nerve.

"A-Akane? I-I wonder, w-would you l-like to go out for s-some ice cream to c-celebrate," his eyes darted toward Shampoo and Ukyo before continuing, "y-your freedom from R-ranma?"

Ryoga was now beet red and looking at the floor in shyness. Akane was gaping at him in disbelief.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Akane asked incredulously.

Ryoga turned a darker shade of red but bobbed his head without looking up. Another piece of the puzzle of why Ryoga was always attacking Ranma fell into place. In fact, it was beginning to look like a rather familiar puzzle in the shape of a bokken wielding moron.

"Have you no decency?" Akane erupted. "Ranma thought of you as a friend, but here you are practically dancing on his grave! In case you haven't noticed, you are the only one here who is happy that Ranma's gone. And then you have the nerve to ask me out when it's not even certain that we can't get Ranma back? And even if we can't, he was my fiancé, and you're showing an amazing lack of respect to me by hitting on me so soon after he disappeared!"

"The world is a dark, cruel place," Ryoga mumbled as he began to glow green with his depression.

"Idiot!" Akane yelled, smashing him with her mallet, knocking him out. "Don't you dare fire one of those Shi Shi Hokodan's in my house!"

Ryoga lay on the floor twitching with his hands in classic 'evil be gone' gestures as his eyes swirled around in his head. Shampoo held up a sign reading 9.7, Ukyo's read 9.9, Cologne gave her a 9.5 (she's old and harder to impress), Kasumi and Nabiki both gave her a 9.8, while Soun gave her a perfect 10. Mousse and Genma refrained from voting, as they were trying to keep a low profile.

After that, they all settled down to watch the next episode of the show.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Man, Toji, that new guy is awesome," Kensuke said. "He could have so kicked your ass. You're lucky he seems to be an alright guy."

"Shut up, Kensuke," Toji sulked. "He just caught me by surprise, is all."

"Yeah, right, like I'm gonna believe that," Kensuke laughed. "Hell, I didn't even see him move and suddenly he had you locked up and at his mercy. Aw, man, they're jamming the news feeds of the battle again."

"Big deal, they'll show it later," Toji sighed.

"Yeah, the censored version where they took out all the good stuff," Kensuke said. "We have to go watch."

"No, we don't," Toji disagreed. "We have to stay here in the shelter or we'll get in trouble."

"Aw, come on, Toji, you owe it to the guy to see him in action," Kensuke smirked. "After all, you were pretty ungrateful. Maybe you hurt the guy's confidence or something."

Toji snorted at that. The guy seemed to have enough confidence for an army.

"You just wanna see one of those robot things in action," Toji retorted.

"Well, yeah, but still," Kensuke wheedled.

"You're not gonna shut up about this until I agree to go are you?" Toji asked in exasperation.

"Nope," Kensuke grinned triumphantly.

Toji rolled his eyes.

"Hey Class Rep! Kensuke and I have to use the restroom," Toji called.

"You should have thought about that before you came in," Hikari responded in a superior tone.

"Aw, come on, we did, but we've been down here a long time already," Toji argued.

"Very well, but make it quick," the girl relented.

Soon the two boys were out of the shelter and headed toward 'the perfect' vantage point that Kensuke happened to know about.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Stupid Janitors and their mop buckets," Ranma groused as she was shot toward the surface on the catapult. "What are they doin' mopping the floor during an attack anyway."

Thanks to an incident involving a wet floor, Misato, and a janitor's mop bucket full of cold water, Ranma was about to experience her first battle in female form. The doors rolled open on the catch cage and the locks released Unit 01, allowing Ranma to step forward. Grabbing a short makeshift spear, little more than a reinforced steel shaft with a prog knife attached to the end, out of a nearby storage bin, Ranma tested the weapon.

With the progressive blade extended it barely came up to the shoulder of her Eva, but it gave her a little more reach than the prog knife alone. Pausing briefly, she shifted the spear to her off hand and picked up an assault rifle-looking weapon as the squid-shaped angel came into view.

'Might as well give them some proof on how effective these things are," Ranma thought as she sighted in on the angel and opened fire.

Taking care to move in an arc around the angel and not repeat Shinji's mistake of losing sight of it in the smoke from the HE rounds detonating against the it's AT field, Ranma spent the entire payload of ammo on target. As she had expected, the angel wasn't even scratched.

Ranma dropped the spent rifle and had to leap back as one of the Squid-angel's glowing ribbon like tentacles snapped through the space Ranma had just occupied. The way the ribbons moved reminded Ranma a lot of that psycho, Kodachi. Shifting her grip on her prog spear, Ranma began to move in on the angel using buildings and such as foils against the waving ribbons.

Using moves not unlike the ones she used with Kodachi, Ranma quickly closed range with the angel. Deflecting one ribbon with her spear, she spun in and made a successful counter slash, removing the bit of the angel's body that the ribbon was attached to. However, in doing so, she had momentarily lost track of the second ribbon.

Ranma screamed as the ribbon snaked around the waist of Unit 01 and a searing pain flared into life around her own waist. The angel picked her up off the ground and began to slam the Eva into buildings, overpasses, the street, anything that looked hard. Struggling against the pain and manhandling, Ranma finally managed to cut the ribbon holding her. Unfortunately, this also cut her own power cable and led to a short uncontrolled flight into the vary hillside she had been trying to avoid. Some things didn't want to be changed, apparently, given half a chance for them to happen.

Ranma looked over and sure enough the two boys crouched between the outspread fingers of the Eva.

"Ah, hell, Misato, we got a problem," Ranma said.

"What is it, Ranma?" Misato's face appeared in a window on Ranma's display.

"It's an unsettlin' issue demandin' a solution or decision, but that's not important right now," Ranma quipped. "What is important are the two boys that I just missed turnin' into a red smear on the ground that are currently cowerin' between the fingers of the Eva's left hand."

Ranma heard Misato gasp as she got a video feed of the two in question.

"Um...I need a decision here pretty quickly, the angel is moving in and the clock is ticking on power," Ranma said as the angel, its missing tentacle regenerated, approached.

"Ranma, we want you to partially eject the entry plug and get those two in there with you," Misato said. "When they're in, you are to disengage from the angel and retreat into the Geo-front."

"Roger," Ranma said.

She did as instructed and ejected the entry plug to its field entry position, draining the LCL and opening the hatch.

"Hey, you idiots, get in here, like NOW!" Ranma yelled at them while fending off the first of the angel's ribbons with the spear.

"Huh?" Toji blinked, seeing a redheaded girl piloting the machine instead of Ranma. "Hey, where's that Ranma guy?"

"I am that Ranma guy!" Ranma snarled urgently. "Now get your asses in the goddamn plug before you get us all killed!"

The two guys finally got a clue and ran to get in the plug. As they piled in behind Ranma's command chair, Ranma closed the hatch and reinserted the plug.

"Look, I'll explain later about who I am but right now the plug's gonna flood," Ranma said. "Don't panic, you can breathe the stuff, as disgusting as it is."

The plug flooded with LCL and Ranma glanced at the count down time on the battery power.

"Okay, I got the guys, but I got a problem," Ranma said as she got the Eva to its knees. "I ain't got enough time to make it back. If I get held up for even a second, we're all dead. I gotta take this thing out."

"Negative, disengage and return to base," Misato ordered.

Ranma ignored her and grabbed one of the flailing ribbons. Screaming as her hand erupted in a searing pain, she lined up the spear and yanked as hard as she could on the ribbon. The angel flew toward them and the progressive blade of the spear struck true on the angel's core. Ranma bore down on the shaft of the spear forcing the blade into the core while pulling back on the ribbon she held. Just as the time zeroed out the blade of the spear punched through the angel's core, killing it.

In the emergency lighting of the entry plug, Ranma collapsed across her controls, breathing heavily, her throat raw due to screaming from the intense pain generated by the angel's flailing tentacles.

"Aw, man, I think this stuff ruined my camera," Kensuke whined.

Toji cuffed him in the back of the head.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So you see, it's a curse. Cold water; girl. Hot water; boy," Ranma finished explaining and demonstrating the curse to the two flabbergasted boys. "And before you ask, no, I ain't into guys when I'm a girl. I'm still the same person in my head even when my body is a girl. So don't even think about makin' a pass at me or I'll make you hurt real bad. By the way, this is classified information. You breathe a word about this to anyone, the NERV men-in-black will arrest you and do nasty things to you."

The boys would have doubted that last bit had two such individuals not been standing behind him at the time giving the boys an evil grin while cracking their knuckles.

"That's so weird," Toji commented.

"So what's it like being a girl?" Kensuke asked. "Which way feels better, if you know what I mean?"

"Keep askin' me perverted questions like that and you'll find out for yourself," Ranma scowled. "The only thing I'm tellin' you is that I'm not quite as strong and I lose some reach, but I make up for it by bein' a lot faster and more agile. And by not as strong, I mean I can only lift 400 pounds over my head as opposed to 600 when I'm a guy and I can still punch a hole through a brick wall."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sighed heavily as Misato was reading him the riot act about the virtues of following orders.

"Do you understand that when I give you an order it's because what we are telling you to do is in your best interest?" Misato demanded.

"You know what, Misato," Ranma started in, "in some cases that may be true. But I know more about fightin' than you'll ever know, and I'm more qualified than you are to know if I could have safely disengaged and made it back before the batteries gave out."

"What?" Misato drew back. "I could have you brought up on charges you know."

"Fine, go ahead, Misato," Ranma snorted. "Have me thrown in the brig, or the stockade, or whatever you people call it around here. You do and I'll walk right out of here and you'll never see me again."

Misato goggled at his bravado, which while he could very well do exactly what he said, he knew the consequences of doing so would doom this world along with himself. Ranma sighed.

"Look, Misato, I have no problems followin' orders, but you damn well need to trust my judgment when it comes to fightin'," Ranma said. "If I don't follow orders, it's for a damn good reason."

"That's not the point, Ranma," Misato argued. "What if those boys had disrupted your synchronization with the Eva? What if they had been killed?"

"What if I had to spend so much time avoidin' those stupid energy ribbon things that the batteries died before I got back inside?" Ranma countered. "Then we have all been killed and the angel would have been free to go to town. We can play what-if's all day, Misato. You want someone that will follow orders to the letter, no matter what, then send Ayanami out there. If you want someone that will take the initiative and improvise, adapt, and overcome, then you gotta trust my judgment and let me do my job. I may be young, but I've been in some form of combat nearly all my life. It's what I'm good at, it's all I know."

"Ranma, we have more information available than you do," Misato argued. "The Magi calculated the chances of you defeating the angel were a lot lower than you making it back to safety."

"And what were the chances of us making it back in time?" Ranma asked. Misato just looked away, not meeting his eyes. "I see. Fortune favors the bold, Misato. Never forget that."

"Goddammit, Ranma!" Misato stood up abruptly and rubbed her temples.

"Misato?" Ranma asked.

"What?" Misato snapped.

"I respect your authority, I really do," Ranma said. "I'm not questionin' your competence. If it had been Ayanami out there, your decision would probably been the right one. I'm just askin' you not to question mine."

Misato just shook her head in exasperation and stalked out of the room.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I can't believe how insufferably arrogant this kid is!" Misato shrieked, venting her frustrations on the blonde doctor. "It's like he has absolutely no respect for authority!"

"Can you blame him?" Ritsuko smiled in amusement at her friend's vexation. "Look at the so-called authority figures in his life. A father that he hates and hasn't seen in years. The guy that raised him was an abusive idiot, little better than a thief and a con man. It's little wonder that he doesn't respect authority."

Misato blinked. Grudgingly, she had to admit Ritsuko had a point. If those were the only examples she had to go by, she had little doubt that she'd be just like Ranma. Of course she'd be in a cell under hack if she flouted authority like he did. That's the part that peeved her. It's like the kid was thumbing his nose at them, knowing that he was too valuable to them to risk antagonizing him.

"He's right you know," Ritsuko commented. "He does know more about fighting than you ever will. You really should trust his judgment."

"Ritsuko..." Misato growled warningly.

"I'm not saying that you should let him do whatever he wants," Ritsuko waved her hands placatingly. "I'm just saying that he's not just some untrained school kid. He's a brilliant fighter with abilities I seriously doubt we've seen the extent of. The fact is, he won the fight, everyone survived, and you know as well as I do, the chances of him disengaging and making it back here safely with the angel chasing him were pretty low as well."

"So you saying I should just let it go?" Misato demanded. "That I should just allow him to undermine my authority?"

"This time, yes," Ritsuko agreed. "If it becomes a habit then you might have to do something punitive. But also, in the future, listen to what he has to say before putting him in a position that he feels it necessary to ignore you."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The tension at the Katsuragi Asylum for the Emotionally Disturbed was driving Ranma nuts. Misato had taken to barhopping all night and not returning until after Ranma was asleep. Mornings, if they saw each other at all, went by silently until one or the other had to leave for school or work.

Frustrated, Ranma didn't know what to do about it. He needed to make peace with Misato, but at the same time, if he was to prevent the apocalypse, he needed her to trust and respect him for his knowledge and abilities. Ranma didn't think this would be achieved by backing down, which by nature was anathema to him anyway. If he gave in to what amounted to Misato's emotional blackmail, there was no way she would respect him.

He was at his wit's end and that's why he was currently stalking through the corridors of NERV.

"Hiya, Pop," Ranma said cheerfully as he entered Gendo's office.

"What do you want, Third Child," Gendo said coolly. "I'm very busy."

"Yeah, you look it too, sitting there lookin' all diabolical with your hands steepled in front of your face," Ranma observed with a smirk, while walking around Gendo's desk. "I bet you were in here busy practicing that all day, weren't ya? Well, I think you need some exercise and I got some frustrations to work off." Ranma reached out and snagged his 'father' by the lapels, hoisting him up out of his seat. "So we're goin' down to the gym and havin' a father-son bonding session while we beat the crap outta each other. Sounds fun, huh?"

Not waiting for Gendo to respond, Ranma hauled the older man out of the office and through the corridors. Gendo, for his part, was unwilling to compromise his dignity by calling for help. The older Ikari also entertained the notion that it would feel good to land a few punches on the impertinent boy and show him that he wasn't the only fighter around here.

Ranma hoped the old fart had something at least. He hadn't had a good spar in weeks. If not he would just settle for roughing the old geezer up a bit, nothing too harsh, just enough to make it painful for the evil prick to get out of bed for the next couple of days. Ranma couldn't help but smirk. He had always wanted a crack at what his friends had said was the most evil waste of skin in the universe.

"Hey, Pop, you got somethin' to change into?" Ranma asked as they entered the gym. "I'd hate to mess up that nice tailored uniform when I kick your ass and all."

Gendo said nothing, he just began removing his uniform jacket and shirt, leaving him bare-chested.

"Whoa, you need a cage for that?" Ranma taunted before taking off his own shirt. Not because he was worried about it, but because he felt an over-powering urge to display how much better built he was that the old man.

"You talk too much," Gendo growled, lunging at his son with a haymaker.

"Whoa! That almost got me, Pop," Ranma smirked, "If I had been chained to the floor and up to my neck in concrete.

'Father' and 'Son' circled each other, Gendo occasionally probing the younger Ikari's defenses. At first, the fight appeared to be very similar to Ranma's first fight with Akane, but without Gendo getting frustrated. Instead, he gave Ranma a small smile, evil, of course.

"Looks like the Third Child is afraid to take a swing...ooff!" Gendo said as Ranma darted in and landed a light punch in Gendo's abdomen.

Well, it was a light punch for Ranma. Any normal person would have been on the ground with internal injuries. Fortunately for Gendo, he was no stranger to fighting. No, sir, in his college days, he would frequently show up banged up, which people assumed was the result of him having gotten into a bar fight. In reality, he had participated in his share of pit fights which his cousin Genma had turned him on to as a quick source of cash.

"What was that you were sayin', Pop?" Ranma asked. "I couldn't quite make that out through your grunt of pain when I hit you."

Gendo snarled at him and launched himself back into the fray. Ranma began to weave around the flurry of strikes that Gendo launched at him. Suddenly, out of nowhere a kick slammed into Ranma's side, sending him rolling across the mat. Flipping to his feet, Ranma avoided the foot stomp that Gendo had attempted to follow up with. The two fighters began circling each other again.

"Seems the old man isn't as unskilled as you seem to believe, huh, Third Child?" Gendo commented with a small grin.

"Good one, Pop," Ranma smirked. "Glad to see you're not completely worthless to me. If nothing else, you make a good punching bag. You do seem to be breathing awful heavy though. Old age getting' to ya?"

With that, Ranma blew through Gendo's defenses and landed a series of punches along his torso followed by a thrust kick that sent the older man crashing on to his back several feet away. Ranma stood back as he watched the old fart get to his feet. He had to give the prick some credit, he was wheezing and his body was covered with a layer of sweat, but he was getting up for more.

Gendo went on the offensive as soon as he recovered his breath a little. Again he struck in a flurry of blows in an attempt to overwhelm Ranma's defenses. After the last time, Ranma was paying closer attention to Gendo's offense, aware that Gendo was attempting to misdirect his focus so as to land the unexpected blow.

When it came, Ranma was actually impressed with the speed the old geezer was capable of. Ranma wasn't surprised that Gendo was going for a low blow, targeting his balls. Not expecting the speed though, Ranma was unable to block the strike or turn to avoid it. The only thing he could do was direct his ki to reinforce the vulnerable area.

Ranma's eyes bulged as the force of the blow lifted him several inches off the floor. Ranma came down, instinctively clutching himself and falling to his knees coughing. He was far from incapacitated though, as Gendo soon discovered as he tried to follow up his cheap shot.

Shaking off the pain, Ranma fell away from the knee to the face, then rolled to avoid a foot stomp. A quick foot sweep put the older man on the mat as Ranma rolled and landed an elbow in Gendo's solar plexus. The air exploded out of the older man's lungs as Ranma rolled away out of reach and flipped to his feet.

Wincing a little, Ranma walked over to where Gendo lay on the ground gasping for breath. Dropping a knee none too gently on the old fart's chest, Ranma grabbed a handful of hair, yanking Gendo's head up. He drew back his fist and watched as the old man's eyes widened in fear. Ranma swung his fist in, stopping millimeters from shattering Gendo's cheekbone and putting the prick out. Instead, dropped the old man's head back to the mat and patted his cheek roughly.

"Thanks, Pop, I needed a good spar," Ranma said, tapping a pressure point on Gendo's torso, to get his diaphragm working again. Looking up, Ranma saw they had an audience. "Oh, hiya, Rei. Enjoy the show?"

The red-eyed girl just watched dumbly as Ranma went over to put his shirt on, while Gendo lay on the mat panting. Clothed, Ranma walked over to Rei, whose red eyes tracked him every step of the way.

"Was there something I can do for you?" Ranma asked.

Rei's eyes darted over to Gendo where he lay on the mat still.

"Don't worry about the old geezer," Ranma commented. "I didn't hurt him much. I only used my basic techniques and held back most of my strength. Gotta admit, he's pretty tough for someone that sits in an office all day looking sinister."

Rei's eyes returned to Ranma, studying him in detail.

"D-Doctor Akagi sent me to bring you to her," Rei said uncertainly.

"Well, then, lead the way," Ranma said, feeling much more chipper in spite of the slight throb still coming from his groin. It was rapidly receding though.

Rei glanced again at Gendo, Ranma followed her gaze, seeing the old man still laying there.

"Say, Pop, you need us to send you a nurse or somethin'?" Ranma asked considerately.

Gendo waved the offer off weakly and rolled onto his side before gingerly climbing to his feet and staggering over to his shirt and jacket. Rei looked back and forth between the two as if confused about something. Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her as her eyes met his. Evidently she gave up whatever line of thought confused her because she silently turned on her heel and headed toward the door with Ranma following behind her.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Why did you beat up Commander Ikari?" Rei asked as they rode the elevator to the level Dr. Akagi was on.

"I needed some stress relief and he needed the exercise," Ranma replied with a shrug.

Rei was silent for a few moments, as if digesting Ranma's answer.

"You are...stronger...than the Commander," Rei observed.

"Well yeah," Ranma said as if it was obvious.

"It is not appropriate to initiate combat with someone weaker than you," Rei said.

It might have been a chastisement, but her tone made it seem more of an observation.

"Normally true," Ranma agreed. "However, it's perfectly fine to spar with someone weaker than you. It's how they get better. 'Sides, I think he wanted to test himself against me as much as I needed a good fight."

"I do not understand," Rei said.

"It's a guy thing," Ranma explained. "Guys sometimes like to fight to prove their dominance over each other."

"So you are dominant over the Commander?" Rei asked.

"Physically, anyway," Ranma agreed.

Rei had no further comment for the remainder of the trip. Her thoughts, however, were quite active as she tried to understand the effect seeing the two males in her life locked in combat had on her. Watching their muscles play over their bare torsos had sent little jolts of electricity through her belly and made her breathing quicken. It was...pleasant, though she didn't understand why.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"You wanted to see me, Dr. Akagi?" Ranma asked as Rei departed after accomplishing her mission.

"Ah, Ranma, just who I wanted to see," the blonde said cheerfully. "I thought you might like to see the new weapon R&D came up with based on your recommendation."

Ranma looked out the window they were standing in front of to see a large naginata-type polearm with a spear point at the end opposite the blade. The blade was about twice as long as the prog knife but had the curve of a real naginata. The length appeared to be just a bit taller then an Eva.

"They are still working on the sword idea, but you should be putting this one through some combat trials in the next couple of days," Dr. Akagi told him.

"Cool," Ranma nodded. "It looks good."

"I'm glad you like it," Dr. Akagi smiled. "So I heard you and Misato are having some issues."

"You could say that," Ranma sighed. "Ever since I refused to accept her reprimand about following orders, things have been...tense...between us. I don't know what to do. I tried to be as diplomatic as I could and I let her know that I respect her authority when I told her that she needed to respect my judgment as a fighter, but I think I still offended her somehow."

"I think she's feeling like she can't trust you to follow her instructions," Dr. Akagi said. "She feels like she can't do her job if she can't depend on you following orders. It also bothers her that in this case you were right."

"Well, I'm not gonna cave just because she's using a little emotional blackmail," Ranma said flatly. "She'd never respect me if I did."

"Agreed, and you'd probably never hear the end of it," the blonde smirked. "However, you both have to find some common ground, if for no other reason than I'm tired of listening to her whine about you."

"Maybe I should just move out," Ranma said tiredly. "I can take care of myself. Rei lives alone after all."

"I don't think you need to do something that drastic," Dr. Akagi said. "You're good for Misato, believe it or not. How about we have a little dinner get-together sometime and we can talk things over with me playing moderator?"

"Think she'll agree to it?" Ranma asked.

"She already has," Dr. Akagi smiled. "Besides, I've been hearing what a wonderful cook you are and I'm dying to try it out."

"Heh," Ranma chuckled. "I like to eat too much not to know how to cook good."

"How about tomorrow night?" The blonde doctor suggested.

"Works for me," Ranma agreed.

"It's a date then," Dr. Akagi said, clapping her hands together.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I bet Ranma really enjoyed beating the crap out of Gendo," Nabiki laughed as she paused the tape.

"Yeah," Akane agreed. "He always did say he would love to have a shot at that guy if he were Shinji. I'm surprised he went so easy on him though."

"I'm surprised Gendo didn't have him arrested," Nabiki countered.

"Shampoo not like way strange blue-haired girl look at Airen," Shampoo commented.

"Or that blonde hussy either," Ukyo added. "She's old enough to be his mother practically."

"Nothing ever changes with Son-in-law," Cologne chuckled. "Even in a fictional world he attracts women like flies to honey."

"At least we no have to worry about purple-haired slut for while," Shampoo said in a vexed tone.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

**Author's Note:** Since it was brought up in a review, I thought I'd take a moment to discuss my reasoning on Ranma's intelligence. Firstly, I personally believe the canon Ranma to be exceptionally intelligent but uneducated. Ignorant does not mean stupid, people. However, in this story when Ranma enters the NGE-verse, Ritsuko is very aware of Ranma's educational deficiencies, which is why she was teaching him computer skills among other things.

Also, Ranma has never had the chance to learn social skills, nor was he motivated to do so given that he was being attacked constantly by rivals, fiancées, and a slew of weird martial artists. However, his life now depends on developing those skills so now he's very motivated. We all know what happens when Ranma gets motivated, right?

It was also mentioned that Ranma is showing too much insight into the minds and motivations of the NGE characters. I disagree. That's the beauty of having him sent there. Anyone who has seen NGE knows that it was more of a psychological drama than a Sci-fi action series. The show delved deeply into the minds and motivations of the main players. Whole episodes were dedicated to the characters exploring their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. It's pretty much all spelled out. This was stated to be Ranma's favorite anime, and that he discussed it with Dai and Hiroshi and presumably with Akane and Nabiki as well. He doesn't NEED to make any intuitive leaps to figure out what's driving them. That doesn't mean he won't be caught off guard, or even oblivious to certain things...like female interest in him.

Also, a few words on Ranma's power level. Yes, Ranma will be extremely powerful in this story...in comparison to the other characters. Ranma was trained to be the ultimate expression of a warrior. And because of the way the world was created, he will be able to do incredible things with an Eva. This is a given and it's not really what the story was meant to be about. The story is about growth. You'll have to wait and read the story to find out what that means exactly.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for all the glowing reviews. I'm really blown away by the response this story had gotten.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 4**

Nabiki smirked as she watched the fiancées complain about the various women that seemed to be being drawn to Ranma. It was all she could do to not roll on the floor laughing hysterically at the irony of Shampoo calling someone a purple-haired slut. As it was, she had to viciously pinch the back of her upper arm in an effort to keep commentary about pots, kettles, and the color black safely in her mouth.

It was going to be interesting to see their reaction in the next episode when, unless he manages to avoid it somehow, Ranma ends up in a compromising position with Rei. A small giggle escaped Nabiki's lips as she calculated the odds of Ranma NOT ending up in a compromising position with a girl. Experience had shown they were too long to consider.

The fathers had been amazingly silent, aside form the occasional outburst of indignation from Genma when his name was mentioned in a not very pleasant light and her father's occasional bouts of tears about the schools not being joined. Even Kasumi seemed to be intrigued by the show even though the original series was not to her liking.

As everyone settled down and returned from getting more tea or restroom visits, Nabiki mashed the play button.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato entered Gendo's office to see the man sitting, as usual, behind his desk, hands bridged in front of his face as if he had never moved from that position since the last time she was in here. Coming to attention in front of the desk she waited for him to speak.

"Captain Katsuragi reporting as ordered, Sir," Misato said after an uncomfortable silence.

She was afraid he might be asleep. It was hard to tell with the lighting and his glasses obscuring his eyes.

"You and the Third Child are having difficulties," Gendo stated.

"Well, maybe a little," Misato hedged. "Nothing I can't handle, Sir."

"You will refrain from causing the Third Child undue stress," Gendo commanded. "I have little desire to be the source of my son's stress relief any more than is absolutely necessary."

Misato's mind boggled. Did the Commander just order her to make up with Ranma and ignore the fact that the boy refused to follow orders? More bizarre, did the Commander just acknowledge Ranma as his son? She stood, dumbfounded, for what could have been several minutes before she realized the Commander hadn't said anything else.

"Um...yes, sir," Misato said. "Was that all, Sir?"

"Yes, you may go," Gendo said, thankful that his typical sinister posture covered the fact that he couldn't move without wincing.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat in the grass on a hillside bordering the athletic field. He was currently watching the distant blue-haired girl as she too sat apart from her classmates in the girls swim class. She looked very alone as she sat on the pool deck leaning against the fence. There was an open area around her as if the other girls were afraid to get too close to her. Ranma's heart went out to her as he too was familiar with being shunned and unable to relate to other people.

"Hey, Ranma, what's up?" Toji said, flopping down beside the pigtailed martial artist.

"Staring at the girls?" Kensuke teased. "Hey, you're watching Rei aren't you? Are you in loooove?"

"Nah, it ain't like that," Ranma said defensively. "I just feel sorry for her. Look at how alone she is. My old man musta really fucked up her head. It pisses me off. It's like he tried to turn her into some sort of emotionless, order-following machine."

"She is a really odd girl," Toji agreed. "It's like she's there, but not. As if the world goes on around her without noticing she's there."

"Well, she really needs a friend and I'm gonna help her," Ranma vowed.

"So Ranma, are you going to try out for any of the Athletic clubs?" Toji asked.

Ranma gave him a wry look.

"Do ya think it'd be fair to everyone else?" Ranma said with a smirk.

"Maybe not, but who cares as long as we win?" Toji grinned.

"Too big a hassle," Ranma commented. "I got bigger responsibilities like savin' the world and stuff."

"There's that," Kensuke agreed. "I wish I could pilot an Eva."

"Ken, you're a real moron, you know that?" Ranma laughed.

"No kidding," Toji shuddered. "After seeing what it was like for Ranma, I don't want any part of that shit. I'm still having nightmares of hearing Ranma scream."

Ranma shot him a sympathetic look, knowing that the boy would be faced with just the situation he wanted no part of and it wasn't going to go well. Silently, Ranma vowed to try to make the outcome less unpleasant for the boy.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei lay on her futon, as she most always did when not required to be at NERV or school. Her red eyes stared blankly at the dingy ceiling of her squalid apartment. Not that she noticed the fact that it was squalid. Such things were not worthy of her notice most times, but certainly now more than ever.

While her body seemed unnaturally inactive, lying very still with only the measured rise and fall of her breathing betraying that she was in fact alive, her mind was racing with thoughts and confusion. As she had many times since it happened, she was revisiting the fight between the Commander and his son, seeking to analyze the effect it had on her.

Her eidetic memory replayed what she had witnessed in detail. She recalled vividly how the two males had striven against each other and how the Commander's bare skin glistened with sweat as his wiry muscles rippled across his frame. As interesting as that was, her focus was drawn inexorably toward the younger Ikari. His fantastic speed and the fluid grace with which he moved fascinated her. More telling was the fact that he did not sweat, nor was he breathing heavily throughout the entire struggle. It was clear he was toying with the Commander, even though the older man had managed to land a few blows.

As she reviewed the pigtailed boy's actions, her body began to squirm slightly. Rei became aware that her memories were causing her to feel the same sensations that she felt while witnessing the fight. It was a pleasant sensation, but it was accompanied by a feeling of undefined need that she failed to understand.

"Why do I feel this way?" Rei asked softly, as she continued to visualize the younger Ikari in her mind's eye.

He was so powerful and fluid, almost god-like when in battle. Why did that affect her? Examining the sensations she was feeling, she found her breathing had quickened and she felt warmer than normal. She also felt a tingling feeling of what must have been anticipation in her abdomen and a moistness between her legs.

Of its own accord, her hand drifted over to the dampening area and touched it. Rei's body went rigid as she sucked a hissing breath between clenched teeth.

"That was...pleasant," Rei said to herself a little shakily.

Images of a bare-chested Ranma drifted through her mind's eye as the hand returned to what it was doing.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

While Rei was stumbling across the age-old art of flying solo, a very different set of events was transpiring over at the Katsuragi Asylum. Currently, the chief cook and bottle-washer, Ranma Ikari, was preparing a feast the likes of which had never been witnessed in a Katsuragi home. While Ranma worked, Misato had been hiding in her bedroom, having secured a cooler filled with beer. She had only emerged for a trip to the bathroom to make room for more of the precious golden fluid.

That was until Ritsuko arrived. Now the dark-haired woman had been forced from her sanctuary by her fair-haired friend and was working on getting a drunk on of epic proportions. They were seated at the table making small talk when Ranma came in with dishes of food balanced on nearly every part of his body that could support them.

The food was laid out and the trio began to eat in silence.

"Wow, Ranma, I'm impressed," Ritsuko said in amazement. "This is really good. If you get tired of living with Misato you can always come live with me."

"Thanks, Dr. Akagi, but I'll have to pass on that," Ranma chuckled. "I know about your thing for c-c-c-furry demons from hell."

Ritsuko shot him a wry grin and continued eating. Before long the food was gone and the trio sat around the table letting their meal settle.

"So I guess we need to talk," Ritsuko mentioned.

"No, no," Misato waved off drunkenly. "No need for that. Already taken care of. The Commander ordered me to make up with Ranma so he didn't have to be Ranma's source of stress relief. Whatever the hell that meant."

Ranma smirked and Ritsuko laughed merrily.

"I guess being our star pilot and the Commander's son, he doesn't have to follow orders like the rest of us," Misato slurred with a touch of bitterness.

"It's not that, Misato," Ritsuko giggled. "It might interest you to know that Ranma, here, marched right into his father's office and bodily dragged him down to the gym for a 'sparring session' to 'work off some stress'. The Commander made a pretty good impression of a punching bag from what I saw. By the way, how are the family jewels there Ranma?"

"They're good," Ranma said, blushing. "I used my ki to protect them but it still hurt. I shoulda figured the old geezer would go for a cheap shot like that."

Misato was gaping at the pair as they casually discussed Ranma beating the snot out of NERV's commanding officer. Ritsuko looked at her and burst out laughing.

"Really, Misato, are you trying to catch flies?" Ritsuko teased.

"You really beat up Commander Ikari?" Misato said in disbelief.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'beat up'," Ranma smirked. "But he's gonna know I was there for the next few days."

"You really don't have any respect for the command structure, do you?" Misato said in amazement.

"Hey, if ya wanted someone that would run around saluting you and following orders to the letter, ya shoulda hired a soldier," Ranma snapped. "If ya want someone who can come in and kick ass, then I'm your man. But you gotta let me do my job. Besides, it ain't like you ain't got your own issues with authority, little miss 'what-are-traffic-laws'. So don't get all hypocritical with me."

"Now Ranma," Ritsuko said. "Misato is only upset because she cares. She doesn't want anything bad to happen to you and the only way she feels like she can protect you is if you follow her orders. And as for you, Misato," she said forestalling Misato's coming rant, "Ranma is right. He's not a soldier. He's had tougher training than just about any soldier I've ever met and like it or not, he's a brilliant fighter."

"But he's just a kid," Misato argued.

"Yes, he is," Ritsuko agreed. "But he's also a kid that can beat the snot out of any soldier we've got. He's also a damn fine Eva pilot and our best hope against the angels. Listen, we expect him to go out and fight like an adult, we can at least respect his judgment as we would an adult's."

"Look, Misato, like I said before," Ranma added, "I don't mind followin' your orders. I respect your talent as an officer. All I'm askin' is that you respect my assessment of a situation. I know what I'm capable of far better than you do. You haven't even begun to see the full extent of what I can do."

"But how can I do my job if I don't know what you are capable of," Misato demanded.

"Why not ask me?" Ranma said. "I'll tell you whether I can do somethin' or not. Geez, Misato, I can change into a girl." Ranma gave her a wry smile dumped a glass of water on his head, triggering a quick gender change. "I figure that means I can do just about anything, huh?"

Something about the improbability of the scene suddenly hit Misato and she started to laugh hysterically. Ranma and Ritsuko soon joined her. After sharing a good laugh the three calmed down.

"Okay, Ranma," Misato snickered. "I guess you do have a point. Two at the moment."

"Hey, the water was cold," Ranma said defensively, setting off another round of laughter.

"Anyway, I promise I'll listen to your opinion, if you promise to follow orders," Misato offered.

"Done," Ranma agreed.

"Oh, before I forget, Ranma, could you drop this off to Rei tomorrow," Ritsuko asked, handing the redhead an ID card. "Hers expired and I didn't get a chance to give her the new one today."

Ranma took the card and looked at it.

"Aww, are you looking at Rei's picture?" Misato teased drunkenly. "Ranma's in love."

"I hardly know her, Misato," Ranma said, blushing in spite of the fact that she knew that was coming. "She just seems so distant, so out of touch with the world."

"Rei's not very adept at living, I'm afraid," Ritsuko remarked.

"She just needs a friend," Ranma observed. "I'm sure anybody would retreat from the world if they had to spend as much time with the old geezer as she has."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma stood before the door of Rei's apartment. It was every bit as bad as he expected it to be. From the flickering of the florescent lighting in the hallway, to the dirt, grime and trash, detritus of years, collected on the otherwise bare metal floor, it was definitely a slum of the first order. Ignoring the intercom/door chime on the wall, which he knew wouldn't work, he knocked on the door.

After a short wait, he knocked on the door again. Still receiving no response, Ranma decided to knock a bit harder, figuring maybe she hadn't heard him in the bathroom. No way in hell was he going in there. He remembered all too well what happened when Shinji entered this apartment the first time, so he pounded on the door in hopes that Rei would hear him.

Unfortunately for Ranma, while the building was sturdy and built to take the abuse of the post-Second Impact weather patterns, the door was not designed to hold up to what some would call, a super-powered martial artist, knocking on it in an aggressive fashion. With a groan of tortured metal, the door fell inward as it succumbed to years of metal fatigue and the incessant pounding applied to it by a young man that had no intention of entering that apartment without being invited by its, hopefully, fully-clothed occupant.

Ranma sweat-dropped as he watched the door fall away from his fist and crash loudly to the floor. Laughing nervously, his fist moved to scratch the base of his pigtail, as if guiltily fleeing the scene of the crime. His mind raced to think of what to do about this.

"Great, Ranma, now what are ya gonna do?" Ranma muttered to himself.

Well, there was no help for it. He would simply have to go in far enough to pick the door up and stuff it back in its frame. However, experience told him that as soon as he set foot across the threshold, the girl inside would appear before him sans clothing and things would be...awkward.

At least she wasn't Akane, Ranma consoled himself. If she was anything like the Tomboy, he'd be a dead man as she crushed his skull with the mother of all mallets before he could even begin to explain. Even if he did get a chance to defend himself, she wouldn't have believed him anyway.

Sighing, Ranma set his jaw and stepped in.

"It was not locked," a soft voice drifted to his ears as he leaned down to pick up the door. "It was not necessary to remove the door from its hinges."

Unable to stop himself, Ranma's head slowly turned toward the source of the voice. As he had known would happen, the apartment's blue-haired occupant, and blue was her natural color, stood before him in all her glory. Ranma's eyes widened as he froze like a deer in the headlights.

She took a step toward him and Ranma, realizing he was staring, quickly spun around to face the opposite direction. Rei walked past him and picked up the door, sticking it back in the frame. Ranma watched with his peripheral vision as the otherworldly girl turned to move away from the door. She didn't notice the door began falling back in and was about to fall on her. Ranma quickly grabbed the girl and pulled her to him just before the door would have come crashing back down on her.

It was only then that the flaw in that plan occurred to him. That being that he was now holding a naked girl against his body. Looking down, more than half expecting to see a look of anger, he saw she was staring disconnectedly at his chest sporting a light blush on her cheeks that was all the more luminous because of her ultra-pale complexion.

"Sorry," he said and quickly released her. He picked up the door and held it in the frame pounding his head on it.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder after a couple minutes of head pounding, he cautiously looked over to find Rei was fully clothed.

"Could you please move?" she asked in her emotionless monotone.

"Oh, ah, yeah, right," Ranma stammered as he opened the door for her.

Rei walked through the opening leaving Ranma to try to get the door back in its frame from the outside. Getting it in place he turned to follow the quiet girl. Halfway down the hall, he sweat-dropped as he heard the door fall back to the floor, but kept going when Rei didn't pause in her movement.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei was in a complete daze. She couldn't take her eyes off the boy sitting across from her during the entire train ride into NERV. The feeling of his body being pressed against her only added fuel to the fires of confusion within her. It had brought back the feeling she had been exploring last night that led to...whatever that was that she had done to herself. She didn't know what it was but it felt...VERY agreeable. She fully intended to research it later to find out just what had happened that left her feeling exhausted, but warm and satisfied at the same time. Whatever the effect was, it seemed to be caused by the chagrinned young man sitting across from her.

Stepping off the train, her thoughts continued to be consumed by her lack of understanding as she walked to the entrance of the Geo-front. Passing her ID card through the reader, nothing happened. She repeated the process twice more with the same result before another card was passed through it and the door opened.

Rei looked over to find the source of her confusion holding a card out to her.

"Um...I came over to give you this," Ranma said. "I forgot about it in the confusion. Sorry."

Nodding, Rei took the card from him, noting the tingle when her fingers brushed his hand. The pair then entered the Geo-front and stepped onto an escalator.

"Um...good luck today," Ranma said.

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Well, you're doing that reactivation test thing, ain't ya?" Ranma said. "I was just hoping that this time turned out better, you know, since the first time didn't go so good for you."

"Why would it not go well?" Rei asked. "Do you not trust the Commander?"

Ranma snorted behind her.

"Trust a guy that sees me as a tool to be used and discarded when he doesn't need me anymore? Yeah, right. That ain't happenin'," Ranma derided. "You can get angry with me about it if you want, but I've had more experience with people than you, and Gendo Ikari is not someone to trust."

This gave Rei pause. She did feel anger that the younger Ikari questioned the Commander's character, but he did have a point about having more experience with people than she did. This was clear when he had correctly predicted that she would feel anger at his words. Rei's confusion grew by an order of magnitude.

Further thoughts were interrupted when the pair heard a muffled curse and a cascade of water shot over the side of a mezzanine above them, thoroughly soaking Ranma and activating his change of gender.

"Great," the now busty redhead grumbled. "Just great."

"Sorry," a janitor called over the railing. "I accidentally spilled the mop bucket."

"Great. Just great," Ranma repeated as she looked down at herself, covered in dirty mop water.

Rei didn't understand why, but she felt the corners of her mouth twitch up into a small smile.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma entered the control room looking over the large room that currently contained Eva Unit 00. Stepping up to the window beside Gendo, he glanced over at the older man.

"Hey, Pop. Feelin' any better?" Ranma asked solicitously, before reaching over and companionable patting his 'father' on a bruised area.

Gendo flinched and made a small grunt before looking darkly at the younger Ikari.

"I am quite well, Third Child," Gendo said.

Ranma chuckled as he saw the old fart's jaw clench.

"You realize," Ranma said soberly, "that if Rei gets hurt again that we'll be having another sparring session, right?"

"She will not be harmed," Gendo said. "I am certain that this activation will be successful."

"I hope so, 'cause she deserves better to be in constant traction," Ranma said, though he couldn't remember exactly how this part went. "What you did to her is even more fucked up than what you did to me. I gotta hand it to ya, Pop; I don't think there's a low you won't sink to in your master plan to take over the world and stuff."

"You would do well to keep that in mind, Third Child," Gendo said darkly.

"Heh," Ranma chuckled, dismissing the veiled threat as the Ikari men watched Rei's entry plug being inserted into Unit 00.

"Activation commencing," Dr. Akagi announced.

Techs, monitoring the various systems, began to call out status reports as the systems were powered up and nerve connections were made. Everyone in the room tensed as the tech monitoring Rei's sync ratio reported that she was approaching the threshold.

"Threshold reached. Synchronization Ratio continuing to climb," the tech reported.

"All systems are functioning normally," Maya Ibiki, Dr. Akagi's protégé reported. "Activation has been achieved. No anomalies."

"Very well," Gendo said. "Prepare to release the locks and begin the testing."

Suddenly alarms began sounding. At first Ranma thought something had gone wrong with the Rei's activation, but then an announcement over the PA allayed those fears.

"Pattern Blue Detected," a male voice said. "We have an angel moving into the city."

"Cancel the testing and prepare Unit 01 for launch," Gendo commanded.

Ranma nodded and took off to the locker room to get into his plug suit while trying to figure out why he didn't remember this part. As he struggled into the suit, it occurred to him that this was the episode he missed the last part of because Akane had malleted him into the canal after he made a comment about Shinji being lucky that Rei wasn't an uncute tomboy or he'd have been malleted to death after the scene in Rei's apartment.

Shrugging, he mashed the button in the wrist of the suit causing it to suck in tightly against his body and headed for his Eva. It would have been helpful to know what went wrong that caused Shinji to wake up in the hospital bed in the next episode, but Ranma was sure he could handle it.

He hoped so because Rei was nearly killed protecting Shinji in that episode.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Wild Horse, ready," Ranma grinned as he announced his status.

"Wild Horse?" Misato asked.

"Sure, why not?" Ranma smirked. "I'm a pilot, ain't I? All Pilot's got clever callsigns. Mine's Wild Horse."

"Okay 'Wild Horse'," Misato shook her head. "Eva launch!"

"WOOOOHOOOOOO!" Ranma's voice was heard as the purple Eva went rocketing toward the surface.

The external monitors showed the catapult catch arms extend and Unit 01 shoot up into them.

"Ma'am we have a power build up coming from the angel," one of the techs reported. "It appears to be some kind of really powerful particle beam."

"Ranma! Move!" Misato yelled to the pigtailed pilot.

"I can't, Misato!" Ranma yelled back.

"Ma'am there's a problem with the transport locks! They're not releasing!" another tech reported urgently.

It was then that the angel fired its weapon, blowing through two buildings before it struck Ranma's Eva squarely in the chest. Ranma could do nothing but scream as the beam began to burn a hole through the Eva's chest armor.

"Temperature in the entry plug rising!" A tech shouted over the screaming coming from the comm.

"Brain wave patterns erratic! Sync Ratio fluctuating!" another tech announced.

"Retract Unit 01! GET HIM BACK DOWN HERE!" Misato screamed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma was unconscious by the time they had retrieved Eva Unit 01 and ejected the entry plug, but his vital signs were stable. Reviewing the data, Ritsuko remarked that it could have been a lot worse had it been anyone but Ranma. The pigtailed pilot had used his own massive store of ki to bolster the Eva's AT field and thus avoided a portion of the damage that could have been received. The blonde scientist determined that someone less durable than Ranma would have almost certainly went into cardiac arrest due to the feedback generated from the Eva having a hole burned in its chest.

As for the angel, it had moved into position directly above Central Dogma and extended a massive drill bit. It began drilling through the 22 layers of armor while the NERV command staff tried to come up with a plan. Analysis indicated that they had 10 hrs before the angel penetrated the Geo-front armor.

First they tried conventional weapon systems, everything from tanks to massive railway guns. Nothing scratched the angel and everything that they attacked it with was instantly fired on and destroyed by the angel's counter fire. The octahedron-shaped angel seemed perfect offensively and defensively.

Failing to mount any sort of effective offensive, they then tried to determine the angel's threat detection range. Using various Eva mock-ups, they were deployed around the city and out in the bay. Each one was quickly destroyed by the angel until they determined the maximum distance that would provoke the angel to attack.

In the end it was Misato who came up with a daring plan. She had heard reports that the JSSDF was working on a new weapon, a Positron Laser. It was untested and its power requirements were ridiculously large. To power it, they would need every bit of power generated across all of Japan but it was the best hope they had.

"This is the best you can do?" Fuyutsuki demanded.

"Yes, Sir," Misato said. "I've run the simulations on the Magi and this plan had the highest success rate."

"Very well," Gendo said. "Proceed with the plan."

"Yes, Sir," Misato replied and left the room.

"Do you honestly think this will work?" Fuyutsuki asked the elder Ikari.

"It had better work," Gendo said. "We don't have many other options."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"This is it?" Misato asked as she looked at the massive piece of equipment.

"Yes, this is the Positron Laser, the most powerful weapon ever built," the project engineer said proudly. "We should be ready to begin testing it soon. The problem is the power requirements."

"Alright Rei, load it up!" Misato called into her comm unit.

"Huh?" the engineer said dumbly. "Hey, you can't do that!"

"Sure we can," Misato informed him. "NERV is authorized to commandeer any equipment we need to fight the angel threat. We need it, so we're taking it."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Meanwhile, power lines and transformers were being routed to the chosen location on the side of Futaga mountain. Huge cooling systems and capacitors were being setup to handle the ridiculous amounts of power they would need to fire the commandeered rifle. Personnel worked at a frantic pace to get everything set up before the dead line.

As work progressed on the site from which they would be firing the weapon, NERV technicians worked feverishly to repair Unit 01's chest armor. Eventually, against the odds, all was in readiness...except Unit 01's pilot.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma groaned as he opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he wondered if it was Akane's mallet that got him or if it was her cooking this time. Her cooking, he decided, given the queasy feeling in his stomach. He became aware that someone was holding his hand when they released it. Looking in that direction, his mind caught up to current events when he saw Rei sitting beside his bed.

"Hiya, Rei," Ranma said weakly. "Man, I feel like I was hit with one of Ryoga's Prefect Shi Shi Hokodan's."

Ranma blinked as Rei reached down and placed a plastic wrapped package in his lap.

"What's this," Ranma asked.

"That is your plug suit," Rei began briefing him. "In one hour, we will board the Evas and move to the launch site on Futaga Mountain where we will receive a further briefing on our mission. I recommend that you attempt to eat something before you leave."

She wheeled a table with a food tray on it over to Ranma's bed. Unfortunately, the glass of water on the tray tipped over and splashed Ranma. Ranma blinked several times as she discovered all the pain was gone.

"What the..." Ranma said feeling her chest.

"I apologize," Rei commented before turning and heading out the door.

Ranma didn't see the small smile on her lips as Rei was faced away from her.

Shrugging, Ranma quickly ate her food. It didn't occur to her until she too was leaving the room that Rei had brought her the plug suit for her female form.

"Why you little..." Ranma said to herself with a broad smile. "I guess you're developing a sense of humor, Rei."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Well, that's it for the first tape, Kids," Nabiki said as she hit the rewind. "It's getting a bit late. How about we meet tomorrow afternoon after school to watch the next one?"

"That's a wonderful idea, Nabiki," Kasumi said, forestalling any protests from the Fiancée Brigade.

"Okay, Sugar," Ukyo agreed. "I'll just walk over with you and Akane after school."

"Shampoo be here," the Amazon fiancée announced.

"I wouldn't miss it," Cologne cackled.

Everyone said their good nights and headed off.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

**AN:** _I'd like to take a moment to once again thank my staff (snicker). If it wasn't for them, this story may have never been completed and certainly not in as high a quality as it is. Specifically, I'd like to thank Weebee, who has joined my merry company of error hunters and pointed out some things that managed to get past the rest of us._


	5. Chapter 5

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**AN:** _In gratitude for the fantastic response everyone has shown thus far, here's a Friday night bonus! I'm posting this early._

**Chapter 5**

Nabiki walked along behind Akane and Ukyo on their way home from school, listening to them complain about the girl Rei Ayanami who appeared to be moving in on Ranma. Privately, Nabiki found the whole situation hilarious. Not only were the girls getting jealous over a fictional character, but said fictional character probably had a far better chance of gaining Ranma's affections than they did.

Suddenly, Akane stopped walking, nearly causing Nabiki to walk into her. Peering over Akane's shoulder, Nabiki blinked. It seemed they were about to add another spectator to Ranma's Odyssey.

"Hiya, Auntie Saotome," Nabiki greeted. "How are you today?"

"Good afternoon, Akane-chan, Nabiki-chan," Nodoka Saotome smiled. "I was just on my way to visit your home to see if my husband and son were back yet. They're so manly to be so dedicated to their training."

Akane grimaced and glanced at Nabiki. Nabiki thought for a moment and nodded.

"Auntie, there's something we have to tell you about Ranma," Akane said grimly.

"Has something happened to my son?" Nodoka asked with concern.

"I'm afraid so, Auntie," Nabiki said. "It's going to be a long story and a little hard to accept, so why don't we head home first. It will also take some demonstrations to convince you of the truth."

An hour later, with the assistance of Cologne to prevent Genma from fleeing, Nodoka was informed of the whole story as far as the Tendo sisters knew it. Several demonstrations of the curses were made and Nabiki brought out her video footage of Ranma changing into 'Ranko'. Needless to say, Nodoka was completely floored. She didn't know whether to flay the skin from Genma's body in a slow, painful fashion followed by a nice roll in a bed of salt, cheer for her son's manliness, or grieve for the fact that she might never see him again.

"S-so, what you are telling me, is that my son has been b-banished to this apocalyptic, psycho-drama anime show and we may watch his exploits there, but he may n-never return?" Nodoka stammered.

"In a nutshell," Nabiki agreed.

"Oh dear," Nodoka commented.

"We were just about to watch the second tape," Kasumi said. "Won't you join us, Auntie?"

"Yes, dear, I believe I will," Nodoka said.

"How wonderful," Kasumi said pleasantly. "And if you like, tomorrow while the girls are at school, you can watch the first tape to catch up."

Kasumi brought out a large tray of snacks and tea for everyone and after Cologne struck Genma's paralysis point to keep him from eating the entire tray, the group settled in to watch the next tape.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato stood before a large map pinned to the board in their on-site base of operations. She was briefing the two pilots in front of her on their mission assignment.

"Ranma, since you have the best sync ratio, you will be the shooter," Misato said. "If you don't destroy it with your first shot, Rei will protect you from counter-fire with this heat shield off of the Space Shuttle. The gun will take about 30 seconds to cool down and recharge for another shot. You have to be sure to replace the fuse after the shot."

"How long will the heat shield last?" Ranma asked.

"We project it will last 17 seconds," Misato said glumly.

"Which would leave Rei to block the beam with her body for the remaining 13 seconds," Ranma concluded. "Misato, I have a better suggestion."

"Ranma," Misato said warningly.

"You promised you'd listen, Misato," Ranma reminded.

"Okay, what's your suggestion?" Misato sighed.

"I should be the one with the shield. Rei should be the shooter," Ranma said, before she was interrupted by Misato.

"Ranma, you're the shooter because you have the best sync ratio and you have the best chance of taking this thing out," Misato argued.

"You didn't let me finish, Misato," Ranma chastised. "Look, maybe I do have the best sync ratio, but I also have other abilities that would be better suited to the shielding position. I have a technique called the Soul of Ice. I didn't have time to get it up before the beam hit last time, but with the technique I can actively cool the shield which will make it last a lot longer. In addition to that, the technique will also make the beam take longer to damage Unit 01's armor. My ki can also help absorb any damage that does happen. Where as Rei might have to suffer the beam unprotected for 13 seconds, I might be able to sustain the shield for long enough for the gun to be ready to fire again."

"Come on, Ranma," Misato said. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you?"

Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped sharply. Rei stepped away from Ranma as bitter cold radiated off her. The humidity in the air began to condense into a slight mist around the redheaded girl and frost began to form on her plug suit. Misato gaped at her.

"Believe me now?" Ranma asked, her breath puffing out in a cloud of steam.

Misato nodded dumbly and Ranma dropped the technique.

"There's more," Ranma said. "It doesn't really matter much how long it takes for the gun to cycle. If I'm between Rei and the target, she won't have a shot. That means I have to stay there as long as the angel can sustain its beam. That might be a lot longer than 30 seconds."

"Okay, okay, you made your point," Misato said. "Rei, you're the shooter. Ranma will be the shield. Ranma, if you get killed, I'm gonna kick your ass. Got it?"

"Sure, Misato," Ranma smirked. "Nice to know someone cares. Most people I know would be rooting for me to get killed."

Misato stepped up and hugged the smaller girl.

"Of course I care, you dope," Misato smiled. "Now get your butt out there and get ready. Good luck."

"My luck ain't never been good, Misato," Ranma laughed as she followed Rei out of the command post. "I'll just have to depend on my skill."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma and Rei sat on the gantries beside their Evas waiting for the mission launch time.

"Pilot Ikari?" Rei inquired.

"Please call me Ranma, Rei," Ranma said with a wry grin. "We're friends, I'm pretty sure, so you're allowed. What did you want?"

"Ranma, I wish to know why you convinced Captain Katsuragi to allow you to be my shield?" Rei inquired. "The pilot manning the shield will most likely die. I am more expendable than you are."

"What are you on about?" Ranma growled. "Geez, the old geezer really mind-fucked you, didn't he? Let me tell you somethin', Rei, you are no more expendable than any other person at NERV, most especially that worthless scumbag that runs this show."

"You are wrong," Rei said calmly. "I am easily replaced."

"Not to me you aren't," Ranma said. "To the Old Fart, we are all easily replaced, but I value you, Rei. You are important to me as a friend. Regardless of how much more skilled I am than you, it's that very skill that makes me the right person for this detail. It would be a waste of my skills and your life for this to happen the way they initially planned it."

"I disagree," Rei said tonelessly.

"Well, it's a good thing for both of us you ain't in charge then, ain't it?" Ranma laughed, shooting the blue-haired girl a roguish grin. "You just concentrate on doing your thing and don't worry about me so much. We'll be fine."

The blue-haired girl sat silently for a few more minutes as the lights in the city below went out due to the power being diverted. Ranma sat watching her with a slight smile until Rei stood.

"It is time," Rei said softly.

Ranma nodded and stood as well.

"Good luck, Rei," Ranma said sincerely.

"Goodbye...Ranma," Rei said morbidly.

The pair walked down the gantry and entered their Evas.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei took her position, prone behind the super-sized sniper rifle as the massive power capacitors being fed by all the electrical power in Japan began to charge up. Transformers crackled with energy as the field of coolant towers began to spool up to wick away the excess heat being produced. Rei reached up and deployed her targeting hood, drawing a bead on the angel.

"Positron laser at 80 percent capacity and climbing," a tech reported over the comm. "Coolant towers functioning nominally."

Rei watched the charge indicator crawl upwards as her targeting computer registered a target lock.

"Picking up an energy buildup from the target!" a tech said in an urgent tone.

Suddenly, Rei's sight picture was obscured, frantically she looked out from beneath the hood to find out what was wrong. She saw Unit 01 standing in her line of fire, a slight mist forming around the purple Eva.

"Ranma, please remove yourself from my line of fire," Rei got out before the angel fired its weapon.

The particle beam stabbed out and struck the heat shield just as Rei's charge indicator hit the fully charged mark.

"Fire, Rei!" Misato said at the same time.

"I cannot," Rei declined. "Ranma has stepped in front of me and is currently blocking the angel's particle beam."

"WHAT?" Misato shrieked.

"Sorry, Misato," Ranma said, the strain evident in her voice as she used the Soul of Ice to cool the rapidly heating shield. "Rei wasn't going to get a shot off before the angel. Rei, you just be ready. You're only going to get one shot. As soon as this beam stops, I'll drop out of the line of fire. If I fall, take the shot."

"Affirmative," Rei's dispassionate voice replied.

Ten seconds went by and Ranma was moving the shield to avoid letting the beam concentrate on one point, something that Rei didn't know if she would have been strong enough to do. At thirteen seconds, the shield was beginning to glow the faintest hint of dull red in places. At twenty seconds the shield was glowing bright, cherry-red all over its surface. At twenty-five seconds, the shield failed and Ranma began to block the beam with her Eva. Thirty seconds after the beam began, Ranma began screaming as the armor was immolated from her Eva. Three seconds after that, the angel's particle beam stopped. Ranma allowed Unit 01 to fall forward down the hill.

With her line of fire clear and a target lock established Rei took her shot. The Positron Laser struck the angel at the tip of one of its horizontal points, blasting through and punching out the other side. The floating octahedron crashed to the ground, belching smoke and flames. Before it even touched the ground Rei brought Unit 00 to its feet and was running over to the fallen Eva.

Once there, she ripped the entry plug hatch off the Eva's upper back and carefully removed the plug. Ejecting her own plug, the blue-haired girl ran over to Ranma's entry plug. Quickly triggering the emergency LCL vent, Rei popped the emergency hatch, ignoring the fact that the handles were burning hot.

"Ranma," the inexpressive girl called. "Do you require assistance? Ranma, please respond."

Ranma groaned and began to move gingerly.

"Owwwie," Ranma moaned. "I hurt."

"Of course you hurt," Rei informed her. "You were subjected to temperatures and pressures outside the human body's ability to withstand. Please do not do such a thing again. I-I...felt extremely unpleasant watching you die."

Her red eyes held an intense look in them as they met Ranma's blue ones for a moment before they were directed downward. Ranma reached out and took Rei's hand in her own.

"Rei?" Ranma said softly. "Thanks for caring."

"You are welcome, Ranma," Rei said, her face feeling strangely warm.

"Rei?" Ranma smiled gently. "Never say goodbye. Never give death a foothold in your mind, until you have no other choice. I'm going to take a little nap now. I burned through way too much ki."

The blue-haired girl nodded silently as Ranma passed out. When the recovery teams got there, Rei was still holding the redhead's hand.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"How is he, Ritsuko?" Misato asked.

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with him," Ritsuko replied. "As near as I can tell, he's in some sort of meditative sleep. Rei said that he mentioned that he used up most of his 'ki' resisting the particle beam. I imagine that he is in a restorative cycle of some kind."

"But it's been two days," Misato complained.

"That eager to have your chief cook and bottle washer back?" Ritsuko teased.

"I'm just concerned, that's all," Misato said. "But I have to admit, instant ramen ain't what it used to be."

"Yes, I can understand that," Ritsuko laughed. "Be careful though or your prize will get stolen out from under you."

"What do you mean?" Misato asked curiously.

"Take a look," Ritsuko smirked, gesturing to the door to Ranma's room.

Misato poked her head in and was surprised to see Rei Ayanami dressed in her school uniform and seated calmly beside Ranma's bed apparently doing homework. Pulling back, Misato gave Ritsuko a querying look.

"She's been right there the whole time," Ritsuko grinned. "Even arranged for their school work to be dropped off here. I didn't think it was possible but my guess is our little Rei has taken a shine to Ranma."

"Well, he is a little heartbreaker," Misato giggled. "And he does have a certain charisma and charm about him, in a crude sort of way."

"Oh my, Misato, plan on entering the competition for Young Ranma's affections?" Ritsuko teased her dark-haired friend.

"I'm not a cradle-robber, Ritsuko," Misato replied. "What about you? You seem to spend an awful lot of time with him yourself."

Ritsuko laughed lightly.

"I do, don't I?" Ritsuko smiled. "He's a fascinating young man, and easy on the eyes as well. But no, I don't think I'll be throwing my hat in that ring. Doesn't mean I can't look though."

"You got that right," Misato giggled. "I walked in on him in the bath once. Believe you me, he was aptly named. Wild Horse indeed."

"Just once, Misato?" Ritsuko smirked.

Misato grinned and waved her finger at Ritsuko.

"He seems to require an awful lot of physicals," Misato observed.

"His body is like a high-performance sports car," Ritsuko sniffed haughtily, putting it in terms Misato could understand. "It requires constant monitoring and maintenance to keep it in top form."

"Riiight," Misato laughed knowingly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei sat quietly, patiently studying the chapters of her science book she'd been assigned to read. Feeling eyes on her she looked over and saw that Ranma was awake, silently watching her. A light blush bloomed on her cheeks.

"Hiya, Rei," Ranma said softly, his voice a little hoarse. "How long have I been out?"

"This is the third morning since we destroyed the 5th angel," Rei replied impassively.

"Have you been here the whole time?" Ranma asked, a little surprised.

"I wished to monitor your recovery," Rei advised. "I have also secured your schoolwork that you missed."

Ranma's growing smile faded at that last tidbit and he groaned.

"That was...um...real sweet of you, Rei," Ranma mentioned. "Thanks."

"You are welcome, Ranma," Rei stated. "Would you like some water?"

"Um...sure, in a glass, so I can drink it, not on me, so I can absorb it through my skin," Ranma smirked.

If Ranma had not been watching for it, he would have missed Rei's lips twitch into a fleeting smile. She put her book aside and poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. Ranma accepted the glass and quaffed it down greedily.

"Thanks," Ranma said, handing the glass back. "You know, you're really cute when you smile."

Rei nearly dropped the glass before setting it on the table.

"You're embarrassing me," Rei said, looking away and blushing darkly.

"Nothin' to be embarrassed about," Ranma said. "It's nice. You should smile more often."

Still blushing, she turned to him and gave him a small smile that seemed to make her face light up. Ranma graced her with one of his own heart-stopping grins.

"I-I...should go inform Dr. Akagi that you have awoken," Rei said, nearly fleeing from the room.

Ranma chuckled. Yes, Rei was thawing nicely. By the time Ritsuko returned to the room with Rei following along behind her, Ranma had already located the phone and called the cafeteria, ordering enough food to feed at least ten people.

The first of it was being brought in as Ritsuko examined him. Ritsuko goggled at the amount of food that was arriving.

"Planning on having a party, Ranma?" the blonde asked. It hit Ranma that Ritsuko was a lot like Nabiki, only nicer, with the way she drawled those teasing questions.

"Nah, I used up a lot of ki. I need a lot of food to restore my reserves," Ranma explained. "But you two are welcome to join me if you want. I can always order more."

"I might have a little bit," Ritsuko agreed, completing her exam.

"So what's the verdict, Doc?" Ranma joked. "Is it terminal?"

"Not this time, I'm afraid," Ritsuko laughed. "You'll be back in Misato's clutches by this afternoon. However, the next time you might not be so lucky."

"Like I told Misato; I ain't never had no good luck. I prefer to rely on skill," Ranma quipped.

"Well, skill is a bit more dependable than luck," Ritsuko agreed. "And you seem to have it in spades. I think you'll be alright."

Ranma smiled as he tore into his breakfast with zeal. As he ate, Ranma reflected on the irony that he had to come to a fictional world and become involved in a life and death struggle to get a little peace and make a few friends. He was actually enjoying himself here. Of course it helped that he actually knew what was going on here, where as at home he was frequently clueless except for the gnawing certainty that everyone back home was out to make his life as hellish as possible. It didn't help that they all wanted opposing things from him and didn't give a rat's ass what he wanted, instead, blackmailing him emotionally, by using his sense of honor, or just plain blackmailing him.

Here he didn't have any of those conflicts. He had one goal, save the world, and everybody was more or less onboard with that. Not that he was under any illusion that things would continue on as nicely as they were. He knew things would get ugly toward the end, but he also knew that there wasn't one person in the show that had their head screwed on straight. He was building a rapport with the people around him and if he could anchor them when things got tough and began to fall apart, Ranma was certain there would be a much different outcome.

Finishing his meal some minutes later and feeling invigorated, Ranma turned his attention back to the two women.

"So what's on the agenda for today, Dr Akagi?" Ranma asked.

"Well, you are staying in this bed for the rest of the afternoon," the blonde informed him. "You need the rest. I'll check you out again this afternoon and if everything still looks good, I'll send you home with Misato."

Ranma winced at the mention of Misato.

"She's not too mad at me, is she?" Ranma asked.

"Not that I know of," Akagi denied. "She is pretty concerned about you. She's been down to check on you as often as she can. Once she finds out your awake, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm treating you for cracked ribs."

Ranma rolled his eyes at that.

"Well, you just get some rest," the doctor advised. "Rei, you'll make sure he doesn't slip off to go beat on the Commander again or something, won't you?"

"Yes, Doctor, I will make sure Ranma remains here and rests," Rei said dispassionately. "He has much classwork to get caught up on so that should keep him occupied."

"Call if you need any help," Ritsuko said. "Otherwise, I'll see you this afternoon."

"Affirmative," Rei said.

After the doctor left, Rei sat down and began sifting through her papers with mechanical precision. Finally she located the stack she was looking for and handed them to Ranma. Ranma sighed and took them.

"Ranma?" Rei spoke hesitantly.

"Yeah, Rei?" Ranma said, looking up and meeting her red eyes.

"I wish to accept your offer," Rei said.

"Um...which offer?" Ranma asked.

"I wish to be your friend and I also wish for you to train me in your art," Rei clarified.

"You're already my friend, Rei," Ranma smiled. "As for trainin', it'll be a pleasure. We can start anytime you like. One thing though, how do you feel about moving out of the place you're in? It's kinda ratty and you probably shouldn't be stayin' in a place where the door is fallin' off the hinges and stuff."

"That was a reinforced steel door in good working order," Rei stated. "I inspected it myself to ensure it provided adequate security."

"Oh...um...sorry about that," Ranma said sheepishly. "Anyway, the point was I always get in some practice before school. If you lived closer to Misato's place then we could meet in the mornings and get in some trainin'."

"What's this about Rei moving?" Misato asked coming in the door.

"Well, I'm going to be trainin' her in the art," Ranma explained. "I was askin' her how she felt about moving closer so we could practice together in the mornin'."

"That's a great idea," Misato smiled. "You know, I do have a spare room at my place still. You could move in with us, Rei. Com'ere you." Misato grabbed Ranma in a rib-crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. Good job out there. Both of you did a fantastic job."

"Thanks, Misato," Ranma gasped. Misato ruffled his hair as she let go. "So how about it, Rei? You up for stayin' at the Katsuragi home for the highly inebriated?"

"'Inebriated'?" Misato asked.

"It means 'drunk'," Ranma said with a smirk.

"I know what it means, I'm just surprised you know words that big," Misato smirked back. "You didn't strain yourself with that one did ya?"

Banter complete, both of them turned to look questioningly at Rei.

"That would be adequate," Rei agreed.

"Then it's settled," Ranma said cheerfully. "We'll stop by and get your stuff on the way home this afternoon."

"That would be acceptable," Rei stated.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Eva Unit 01 has sustained damage to 75 percent of its armor," Ritsuko reported to the two men, Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki in Gendo's office. "Repairs will be completed in a week."

"That will be acceptable," Gendo said from his standard, diabolical posture.

"Also, while Unit 00 sustained no damage, our testing indicates that the Eva's performance is far below that of the other two active Eva units," the bottle-blonde scientist informed them. "I recommend that as soon as repairs are completed to Unit 01, we take Unit 00 offline for the X-mod. The modifications will take about two months, but they should greatly improve Unit 00's performance."

"We don't have the funding for that," Fuyutsuki argued. "The UN has refused our requests for budget increases and they are funneling some of the funds that should have been coming to us to this new project, Jet Alone."

"Do not worry about that," Gendo said. "NERV is the only hope to defeat the angels and the UN will see that soon enough. As soon as Unit 01 is back online, begin the modifications to Unit 00. In the meantime, I will put more pressure on NERV Germany to release Unit 02 and its pilot to us. By now it's clear that the angels are only attacking here."

"I'll begin preparations," Ritsuko said and left the office.

"What of our funding?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"It will be taken care of once the UN sees what a spectacular failure this rival project is," Gendo said ominously.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Misato, Rei and I are going shopping," Ranma announced. "You got any suggestions on where the best place to look for clothes is?"

Misato blinked. Ranma hated shopping for anything but food and she just couldn't wrap her mind around Rei as a fashion bug. This was something she had to be in on.

"I know a few places," Misato grinned. "Going out to buy your girlfriend a cute outfit for your date?"

"It ain't like that," Ranma said, blushing. "Rei just needs some clothes that she can train in. While it's good to be able to fight in what you wear all the time, her options are a little limited. She only owns four school uniforms, two bathing suits, and her plug suit. I don't want her to ruin her uniforms training so we're gonna get her some workout clothes."

"Well, lets go then," Misato grinned broadly, chugging the rest of her beer and splashing Ranma with some water. "We can make it a girl's day out!"

"Misato..." Ranma growled warningly, but was ignored.

"It'll be fun!" Misato said cheerfully, grabbing for her keys.

Ranma snatched them before Misato.

"Okay, but I'm driving," Ranma smirked. "After all you've been drinking all morning."

"Yeah, and?" Misato demanded to know the point.

Ranma just grinned and jingled the keys before turning and heading to the door with Rei in tow.

"Coming Misato?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Misato said, grabbing her purse and following the two younger girls.

Ranma drove and Misato gave directions. By the time they reached the mall, both of them were grinning like maniacs while Rei sat in the backseat looking a little frazzled, but as stoic as ever.

"Almost there, Kiddo," Misato said cheerfully. "In another few months, you'll be almost as good a driver as me. Nice parking technique too."

Rei sweat-dropped in spite of herself. Ranma had done a 180 degree emergency brake skid across two lanes of traffic and had come to rest perfectly parallel parked between two other cars.

"Thanks, Misato," Ranma chirped. "I had a good teacher."

Rei's sweat-drop grew as they exited the car and headed into the building.

"Anyway, I know just where we need to go first," Misato said taking the lead.

Ranma and Rei followed along behind the enthusiastic older woman as she cut her way through the afternoon mall crowds like a woman on a mission. Ranma about had a coronary as she saw where Misato was heading. Misato looked over her shoulder and smirked at them as she entered the lingerie shop.

"Rei, you go on with Misato," Ranma suggested. "I'll just wait out here for you guys to..."

Ranma was cut off as Misato reappeared and snagged her arm, dragging her in the store.

"Don't even think about it, Ranma, sweetie," Misato said sweetly. "You need some stuff too. I noticed you don't ever wear a bra, even when you have to be in that form for a while, and you, young lady, are entirely too top heavy to run around without one. You at least need a sports bra for when you train. It'll be much more comfortable. Believe me, I know."

Misato thrust her own well-developed chest out for emphasis.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma sighed in resignation.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato had successfully talked Ranma into buying a selection of sports bras in plain colors and a few additional pairs of panties, less plain than the ones she currently owned, but the fact that they were called 'boy-cut' seemed to appeal to her. Misato also managed to coax her into buying a few sets of sleepwear, mostly cute flannel shorts that resembled boxers and matching tops much like Misato herself preferred to sleep in. After that, the older woman let the redhead off the hook to concentrate on Rei.

While Ranma was standing near the register, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible, Misato led Rei around the store looking at things.

"What do you think of this, Rei?" Misato asked holding up a set matching bra and panties made of pure, white lace. "These would look really cute on you."

Rei contemplated the proffered items impassively.

"They do not seem very durable," Rei said at last.

"That's not a consideration," Misato giggled. "I bet Ranma would love to see you in these."

"Ranma would like them?" Rei asked dispassionately.

"Trust me," Misato grinned. "If Ranma saw you in this set, he'd be putty in your hands."

Rei considered this. She had done some research in the last few days and she now understood that the strange effects she had been experiencing with Ranma were do to the fact that her body saw him as a desirable potential mate. He would give her strong children and he would be able to protect her and their offspring. She had also learned that males were visually stimulated to a larger degree than females. Misato was saying that the items she was holding would assist her in Ranma seeing her as a desirable potential mate. A light blush bloomed on her cheeks as she contemplated to where that would lead.

Misato's grin broadened as she watched the girl work through her thought process. She knew she had the younger girl hooked now. Rei's wardrobe was about to expand by several orders of magnitude. Poor Ranma wouldn't stand a chance.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Geez," Ranma said tiredly as they stuffed the innumerable bags into Misato's car. "I only wanted to get Rei some work out clothes, not buy out the store."

"Don't be such a spoil-sport, Ranma," Misato smirked. "Besides, Rei needed stuff to wear besides her school uniform and workout clothes. Now don't you think she looks cute?"

Ranma looked over at Rei...again. She had a hard time not looking at the blue-haired girl in her new outfit. Rei was wearing a short, pale pink top and a pair of snug, white shorts along with a pair of strappy sandals on her feet. Rei blushed and looked down under Ranma's regard.

"Yeah, you look really good, Rei," Ranma smiled. "That outfit looks really cute on you."

"Thank you, Ranma," Rei said softly, her blush increasing.

For Rei's part, she was having a hard time containing herself. The way Ranma looked at her filled her with unfamiliar feelings, good feelings. It was becoming extremely difficult for her to maintain her reserve. Gendo had taught her, by example, to always be reserved and ignore her emotions, but more and more, since Ranma had come, she had begun to wonder if Gendo's reserve was simply because he was empty inside, devoid of happiness and emotionally numb.

In contrast, Ranma seemed full of emotions. He wore them on his face, plain to everyone. He seemed so full of life and exuberance, unwilling to let things get the better of him. Rei doubted that she could ever be that open with her feelings, but she did find that part of the pleasure she felt around Ranma was that openness.

Thinking about this, Rei concluded that Ranma would enjoy her company more if she too were to become a little more open. She resolved to work on just that. Looking up at the pigtailed redhead, she allowed the smile she had found herself suppressing to bloom on her face. The happy smile that Ranma returned made the effort well worth it.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"My son is so manly!" Nodoka sang as she whipped out her victory fans and did her happy dance.

The fiancées were considerably less happy as it had become clear that their fiancé had officially acquired yet another girl chasing him. Worse yet, they couldn't do a thing to discourage her. And worst of all, he seemed to be responding to her.

"Shampoo kill strange, husband-stealer girl," Shampoo grumbled.

"How ya gonna do that, Sugar," Ukyo asked. "We're losing Ranma to a fictional character. I can't believe it."

"She can have the perverted jerk for all I care," Akane growled, her glowing battle aura and the way she fingered her mallet gave lie to her words.

"Waaaah, the schools will never be joined," Soun wailed.

Nabiki just shook her head in amusement as she watched the floor show.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	6. Chapter 6

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**AN:** _Here's another early post. The reason behind this one is I wanted to get over the first potentially disappointing hump this weekend. Asuka strikes tonight!_

**Chapter 6**

Kasumi sighed as she prepared the tea service. The last episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/2 had caused quite a stir. Those people could sit out there and watch as all sorts of ugly things happened to Ranma without expressing a word of distress, but the minute it looked like Ranma might have a chance at happiness they all condemned him, including her little sister.

Kasumi fully understood the sentiments Ranma had expressed about not wanting to come back. She wouldn't either if she had a chance to escape from such selfish people. Kasumi fervently hoped that Ranma would find happiness with that Rei girl, at least for a little while, otherwise he might never be able to be happy with any woman.

Pasting her pleasant smile back on her face, Kasumi picked up the tea service and headed back out to the table.

After everyone got their refreshments, Nabiki started the tape again.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma and Rei were seated at the table eating breakfast. Rei's training had begun and while she was a rank beginner, Ranma was impressed with her speed and strength. Not only that, she had a focus and a learning curve that matched his own. After he had shown her a kata and corrected her movements, she performed them perfectly every time with her trademark mechanical precision.

Misato's door opened and the living dead shambled out. The zombie, whose hair was standing up on one side in a giant cowlick, scratched the underside of her left breast as she plopped bonelessly down at her place at the table. Cracking open the beer in front of her, she upended it, slamming the entire contents in one long pull. It always amazed Ranma to watch the process. He could practically see her energy level rising as the beer level dropped.

"YEEEEHAWWW!" Misato belted out, slamming the empty can down on the table. "That's the stuff!"

The zombie returned to life; her morning resurrection ritual completed. Misato then began to eat her breakfast as Rei gave her an odd look and Ranma chuckled.

"Don't worry about it," Ranma grinned at Rei. "Ya get used to it after a while."

Rei nodded and returned to her breakfast, finishing up the last of it as the doorbell rang. Misato looked up and started to lever herself up.

"Um, Misato, I know I ain't got no feminine modesty, but are you sure you wanna answer the door like that?" Ranma laughed.

"What's the matter?" Misato teased. "You wanna keep Rei and me all for yourself?"

Ranma blushed and laughed nervously before smirking.

"Ya got me, Mi-chan," Ranma said with his lady-killer smile. "I'm startin' a harem and you and Rei are the first members." Ranma rolled his eyes. "Give me a break. I'll get the door."

The door opened to reveal Toji and Kensuke, otherwise known as the slavering perverts.

"Hiya guys," Ranma greeted. "What's up?"

"Morning, Ranma," Toji said. "We just came by to walk with ya to school."

"Oh, really?" Ranma smirked. "I rate an escort now? And you didn't just come by to see Misato?"

"Misato's here?" Kensuke asked as if surprised.

"Helloooo, Misato!" the two perverts said leaning in the door.

"Hi Boooys," Misato sang back from the dining room.

"You're so lucky, Ranma," Toji gushed.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma smirked then looked back toward the dining room. "Rei, you ready to go?"

Rei appeared from the dining room with their school bags and walked up beside Ranma handing him his. Toji and Kensuke blinked.

"I am ready," she said softly.

"Alright, let's get going then," Ranma said cheerfully.

"Hey Ranma, what was Rei doing at your place?" Toji asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Oh, she lives there now," Ranma mentioned casually.

"You're living with TWO women now?" Kensuke asked.

"Geez, you make it sound like we're all sleepin' in the same bed," Ranma snorted. "We all have separate bedrooms and ain't nothin' goin' on. Rei moved in because I'm trainin' her in the art and this way we get in some training in the morning before school."

"You're training in the martial arts, Rei?" Toji asked the impassive girl in surprise.

"Yes," Rei stated. "Ranma has proven that his training in the martial arts has made him a more efficient pilot. I, too, wish to become a more efficient pilot."

Kensuke jumped in front of Ranma on his knees, his hands together under his chin in supplication as tears poured out of his eyes.

"Ranma, please train me too. I wanna be an Eva pilot too!" the bespectacled boy pleaded, causing Ranma to roll his eyes.

"I kinda want to focus on Rei right now," Ranma declined. "I've never trained anyone before so I don't wanna get in over my head."

After all, he did have to get Rei up to speed for when Asuka arrived. That way they could act as sparring partners.

"Man, Ranma, you just don't know how good you've got it," Toji sighed. "I mean, Misato's like a total babe. I'd give anything to live with her and get to see her every day. And now you're living with Ayanami too."

"Geez, wipe the drool off your chin, Toji," Ranma said in exasperation. "Sorry, Rei, they're good guys but they can be a bit on the perverted side sometimes."

"I am not offended," Rei said coolly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma smirked as he heard the squeal of tires out in the parking lot. He knew exactly who that was and didn't bother to get up.

"Hey, it's Misato and damn she looks good," Kensuke called out.

He and Toji were practically hanging out the window waving and calling out to her. Just about every boy in the class stampeded to the windows to look.

"Slavering perverts," Ranma said, rolling his eyes before continuing his conversation with Rei.

"Do you think Captain Katsuragi is unattractive?" Rei asked.

"No, it's not that," Ranma denied. "Misato is definitely attractive, a little ditzy sometimes, but attractive."

"Why then do you not act like the other boys?" Rei asked.

"Why would I want to act like a hormone-crazed idiot?" Ranma asked. "It just always struck me as stupid to act like that. Maybe it's because, as martial artist, I have to be in control of my body, or maybe because my 'condition' has taken all the mystery out of the female body for me. I guess it just takes more than a nice body and a pretty face to turn my head."

'Or maybe it's because I've been conditioned that if I even look at a girl sideways, I end up with another fiancée or a blunt object to the head; sometimes both,' Ranma added mentally.

"What qualities do you find attractive in a female," Rei inquired.

"I dunno," Ranma said pensively. "I guess the girl I'm attracted to would be someone who listens to me and doesn't jump to any conclusions. She'd ask my opinion instead assumin' she knows what I think. She wouldn't be all possessive like she owns me or somethin'. She wouldn't be all violent every time my opinion isn't the same as hers. I guess that's about it."

Meanwhile, Rei was measuring herself against his standards. A small smile curved her lips as she discovered that she scored quite well in the assessment.

Ranma had no clue why Rei was smiling, but it was something he liked to see on the unnaturally dispassionate girl, so he returned her smile. Several girls in the class that had been covertly watching wanted to cry out to the gods about the injustice of it all. In their estimation, Ranma was a total hunk and they couldn't understand how he could possibly ignore their various attempts to capture his attention and yet a girl that had less emotional depth than the average rock managed to catch his interest.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Wow, it looks great," Ranma enthused. "I never was too fond of that purple color. Reminds me of someone I'd just as soon forget about."

Ranma, Dr. Akagi, and Rei were currently looking over the repaired and repainted Unit 01. It was now a dark blue color with the same green and black trim as it had before.

"I thought you might like it," Dr. Akagi smiled. "I remember you mentioning that you didn't like the purple so since we had to repaint the whole thing anyway, I had them change it."

"Thanks, Doc," Ranma smiled broadly. "That was real nice of you."

"It wasn't a problem," the blonde said giving the pigtailed pilot a warm smile. "Besides, maybe now you'll try harder to keep the paint from being burnt off it."

Ranma chuckled and scratched the base of his pigtail.

"Maybe," he said.

"Well, now that you've seen your Eva's new look, I believe we have a Sync Test for you and Rei to get to," Dr. Akagi laughed. "After that, I thought we could do some testing with the naginata."

"Okay, sure," Ranma agreed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Captain Katsuragi reporting as ordered, Sir," Misato announced as she stood before Gendo's desk.

"Rei Ayanami has moved in with you and the Third Child. Why?" Gendo questioned succinctly.

"Sir, I overheard them discussing Rei moving closer so that they could meet in the mornings to train," Misato answered. "Rei has asked Ranma to teach her his martial arts to make her a better Eva pilot. Since you ordered that the Third Child be stressed as little as possible, I offered to let Rei move into the remaining bedroom at my place so that they could maximize their time together."

"I see," Gendo said. "And what is the relationship between Rei and the Third Child?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Sir," Misato said. "As far as I know, Ranma seems pretty oblivious to female interest, which there's a lot of. As for Rei, I couldn't say. She's pretty unreadable, but she does seem to be interested in what Ranma can teach her."

"Very well, I will allow it for now," Gendo said, thinking that if the boy is concentrating on training Rei, he'll have less time to see to Gendo's 'exercise'.

After Misato left the office, Fuyutsuki appeared out of the shadows.

"Do you think the Third Child is trying to form some sort of romantic relationship with Ayanami?" the older man asked.

"If he is, he will find out soon enough that Rei is incapable of forming such a bond," Gendo said. "From what the Captain says, the boy may not be capable of such a bond either. It won't be a problem as long as it doesn't affect their ability to pilot."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei and Ranma had just entered the apartment from their morning workout on the roof of the building when Misato's door slid open and Misato walked out. Ranma was expecting it but it hadn't prepared him for the reality. Misato was wearing her conservative NERV dress uniform, looking every inch the consummate professional from the hem of her long skirt to the fact that she had her game face on.

"Whoa, looking good, Misato," Ranma said. "You clean up pretty good."

"I'm going to be in Old Tokyo at a meeting all day," Misato said in a tone that was all business. "I won't be home until late so don't bother making dinner for me. I'll probably have something there."

"'Kay, well, good luck and call me if you need me," Ranma smirked.

Misato nodded and left.

"Rei, you go ahead and get a bath while I make breakfast," Ranma said. "After I bathe we'll head in to NERV. I don't know why they want us hanging out there today. It's almost like they expect something."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato and Ritsuko entered the large convention hall and quickly located the table with the sign reading NERV on it. The pair looked rather isolated being seated at such a large table with only the two of them. Misato figured it was something of a snub that Gendo had only sent herself and Ritsuko to an event that the hosts obviously felt was of great importance.

Indeed, it was of great importance to NERV because if things went well today for the Jet Alone project and their backers, it would detrimentally cut into NERV's UN funding.

The presentation began with the company mouthpiece scientist giving the gathered audience an overview of the benefits and capabilities of the Jet Alone mecha. When he got to the part detailing the power source, an onboard nuclear reactor, Ritsuko raised a question.

"Do you really think it's safe to have a nuclear reactor onboard this machine?" Ritsuko asked in a slightly condescending tone.

"Ah, our esteemed guests from NERV," the scientist said in a matching tone. "I can assure you it's entirely safe and a lot less cumbersome than having to drag a power cord around."

The two then proceeded to get into a technical discussion where in they both took shots at each other pointing out the deficiencies in both approaches. Finally, Ritsuko played her trump card.

"The fact remains that NERV is the only one capable of countering the threat the angels pose," she said smugly.

"Ah, you must be referring to your 'AT' field," the man smirked knowingly at the stunned NERV attendees. "Rest assured, you may have the advantage now, but that won't last forever."

Of course, Ritsuko knew there was no way they could duplicate the AT field because it was a product of what the Eva's really were, not an effect produced by a piece of machinery. Misato, on the other hand, was furious because it seemed someone was leaking NERV secrets.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

After a break for lunch, everyone had gathered in the control bunker to observe the first public demonstration of the Jet Alone mecha. Much pomp and fanfare accompanied the large hanger splitting down the middle as the halves rolled away to reveal a large humanoid mecha. It had a hunchbacked appearance, its red faceplate set low between the shoulders. The shoulders were painted red while the arms, angular torso and upper legs were a dull metallic gray. The lower legs were colored dark blue.

The spokesman began giving a play-by-play as the team of scientists and techs began the startup procedure. Slowly, four rods extended from the mecha's back and shoulders. The spokesman explained that they had pulled the control rods from the fission pile and the reactor was now powering up.

As the giant mecha took a step the spokesman gushed like he had just seen his child take its first step. Misato was less than impressed where she leaned against the wall aloofly.

"Yeah, yeah, so it took a step. Big deal," she sneered. "But can it fight is the question."

Suddenly there was some consternation among the techs and scientists controlling Jet Alone. It seems that the mecha had continued walking after they gave it the command to stop. Nothing they tried seemed to work and people scattered as Jet Alone came crashing through the convention center.

"Sir, we have another problem," one of the Jet Alone techs called out. "We can't reinsert the control rods and the reactor's core temperature is rising. If we can't get those rods in soon the reactor will...oh no!"

"What is it? What's happening?" the spokesman demanded.

"If Jet Alone stays on its present course and speed, it will be in the middle of Atsugi City when the core melts down," the horrified tech said.

"Oh no," the spokesman scientist lamented, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "What are we going to do? This is terrible."

Misato finally had enough as the Jet Alone personnel all but gave up and began having a pity party. She whipped out her cell phone and called up NERV.

"This is Captain Katsuragi," she said into the phone. "We've got a problem here. The Jet Alone robot has run out of control and is going to have a nuclear meltdown in Atsugi City if we don't stop it. I need Ranma and Unit 01 here ASAP, and have them bring a radiation suit."

Misato hung up the phone and took charge of the situation.

"Okay, listen up," Misato barked out, getting the depressed Jet Alone people's attention. "Look, Jet Alone is not accepting transmitted commands, right? Well, if I can get aboard, I can enter the commands to shut down the reactor directly. I just need the password for the system."

"I'm not authorized to give you the password," the lead scientist/spokesman said miserably.

"Well I suggest you call someone who is, because unless I get the password a lot of people are going to die," Misato growled.

The man gulped, pulled out his cell phone, and began making calls.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So why can't I just destroy it, Misato?" Ranma asked her. "It'd be a lot easier than this stunt you're about to pull."

"Because, Ranma, we want to avoid irradiating the countryside with a nuclear meltdown," Misato said in an overly patient tone as she pulled on the radiation suit.

"Oh," Ranma said. He had always wondered why they didn't just blow the thing to pieces.

"And we're the only ones that can not only get aboard Jet Alone and enter the commands directly to its onboard computer, but also stop Jet Alone's progress toward Atsugi City while we do it," Misato continued.

"Oh, okay," Ranma shrugged. "Well, no problem. It'll be a walk in the park."

"Says the boy who will be nice and safe in his Eva behind an AT field," Misato groused.

"Hey, you could've had Rei come along to pilot Unit 01 and I could've gotten in the thing to shut it down," Ranma pointed out. "I _am_ a lot stronger and physically capable than you."

Misato looked at him, her eye twitching at being called less physically capable than a 14-year-old boy, no matter whether it was true or not.

"Yeah, well, you don't have the computer skills that I do and Rei was needed in case an angel attacks while we're busy," Misato shot back.

"Yeah, well, I think _you_ just wanna play the hero for a change," Ranma smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The thought never crossed my mind," Misato sniffed.

"Riiight," Ranma drawled with a grin.

"Um...Captain Katsuragi?" a tentative voice called out as a defeated looking man walked up to them.

"What is it?" Misato said in a short, irritated tone.

"Are you really going to do this?" the man asked.

"Somebody has to try to stop your little runaway project before it kills a lot of people," Misato replied.

The man sighed heavily.

"I know," he said quietly. "The password is 'Hope'. I'm sorry."

Misato just nodded and the man turned and walked away.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Jet Alone came into view as the plane carrying Unit 01, Ranma, and Misato approached. It was striding along like it had a sense of determination.

"We're approaching the drop point," the pilot said. "Get ready."

"You ready, Misato?" Ranma asked, looking down at where the woman was clutched lightly in Unit 01's hand.

"All set here," Misato said, giving Ranma a thumbs-up.

"We'll be dropping in 3...2...1...Eva released," the pilot said as Unit 01 slid back on the drop booms and was released to free fall to the ground.

Ranma tried to protect Misato as well as possible as the Eva hit the ground with a bone-jarring impact. The massive mecha skidded a short ways before Ranma broke into a run, headed for Jet Alone as fast as possible.

"You okay, Misato?" Ranma asked as he ran.

"I'm fine, Ranma," Misato reported. "Gonna feel it in the morning, but I'm fine for now."

"Going soft on me, Misato?" Ranma chuckled. "This hero stuff hurts, don't it?"

"Whatever, Ranma," Misato shot back. "Just get me to Jet Alone and I'll take care of the rest."

"Roger," Ranma said, still chuckling at Misato's game attitude.

Before long, the newly painted midnight-blue and green Eva caught up to the giant Jet Alone mecha and grabbed hold of it. Ranma reached out and placed Misato on the robot's back. Misato grabbed the handholds and began to scale the machine toward the personnel access located at the top.

"Careful, Misato," Ranma cautioned as she slipped and barely caught herself from a nasty fatal fall.

Misato regained her footing and shot Ranma a quick wink and a victory sign before resuming her climb. Once at the top, she popped the access hatch and slipped inside. Ranma repositioned Unit 01 to block Jet Alone's forward progress.

Placing the Eva's hands on Jet Alone's chest, Ranma planted the Eva's feet and braced. Jet Alone continued to move forward a short ways, the Eva's feet sliding back along the ground. Growling, Ranma shifted his grip. Dropping lower, the Eva's arms locked around Jet Alone's waist and Ranma placed the Eva's shoulder against Jet Alone's lower torso. With a grunt, Ranma heaved the giant mecha off its feet, halting its progress.

Inside, Misato bounced off a bulkhead, cursing.

"Dammit, Ranma, hold this thing still," she yelled as the floor canted and set her sliding again.

"Sorry, Misato," Ranma apologized. "I got it now. You should be good."

Misato picked herself up and carefully made her way to the computer terminal along the canted deck. Pulling up the login screen, she entered the password. After a pregnant pause, the screen flashed that access was denied.

"It's not accepting the password!" Misato reported. "I'm going to try again. Come on you piece of junk take the code. Man, it's hot in here."

While Misato was trying to access the computer, Ranma had an idea. He slipped into the Soul of Ice and forced it into his AT field and into Jet Alone. The temperature rise slowed, buying them some time before the reactor went into meltdown.

"The temperature rise is slowing," one of the techs monitoring Jet Alone reported.

"Have the control rods been reinserted?" the lead scientist asked.

"Negative," the tech reported. "I can't explain it. The whole thing just seems to be cooling down from the outside. Whatever it is, it's not enough though. It'll buy us some time, but that's about it."

Inside Jet Alone, Misato breathed a sigh of relief as a wave of cool washed over her. She continued to attempt to access the system but, again, it denied her access. Punching the terminal in frustration, she decided on another plan.

"I can't access the system," Misato reported. "I'm gonna try something else."

"Just hurry," Ranma said in a strained tone. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this thing and keep the Soul of Ice up."

"Roger," Misato said as she moved over to the extended control rods.

Grunting with effort, she began to try and push the rods back in. Slowly, too slowly, the first rod began to move as Misato put every ounce of force she could muster behind it. Once she got that one in her muscles and joints shrieked in agony at being taxed to their limits.

After about 3 minutes, Misato had managed to force only one of the rods back in. She had just moved to the next one when Ranma spoke up sounding exhausted.

"I can't hold the Soul of Ice at this level anymore, Misato," Ranma gasped out apologetically. "Hope it was enough..." He trailed off, only keeping Jet Alone held off the ground in the Eva's grasp by force of will.

Misato felt the temperature spike rapidly as Ranma dropped his technique. Urgently, she began to push on the next rod, but her body was failing her. She strained fruitlessly against the rod as sweat dripped into her eyes.

'This is it,' Misato thought as tears began to run down her cheeks to mix with the sweat. 'This is where I'm gonna die. At least Ranma will be protected by the AT field.'

Misato slumped against the wall as she watched the temperature readout reach the meltdown point. Just before it did though, the control rods suddenly retracted themselves and the reactor shut down. She sighed in relief, but Misato was too tired to do more than that.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ritsuko sighed as she closed her laptop. Gendo wasn't going to be happy, but Ritsuko, while willing to follow through with the plan initially, found herself unwilling to sacrifice her friend or risk Ranma's AT field not protecting him and Unit 01. A city full of strangers is one thing, her friends were quite another.

That didn't mean she was looking forward to explaining this to Gendo. While she knew that she was too important to NERV for Gendo to do anything...extreme...she knew that going against the man's plans was not generally healthy and not just to one's career.

Perhaps Ranma was right. Perhaps she should start watching her back around Gendo Ikari. It wasn't lost on her that he was perfectly willing to sacrifice Misato and risk harm to Ranma and Unit 01, both of which were integral to his plans, just to discredit the Jet Alone project. Yes, in the future, she would watch her back around the manipulative bastard.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sighed heavily. It was Sunday and everyone had the day off. Well, almost everyone, Ranma corrected himself as Misato called for him from her bedroom. She had been a perfect pain in the ass since the day following the Jet Alone incident when she woke up to discover the price she had paid for her efforts. Misato was convalescing in her bed, unable to move without a significant amount of pain thanks to the bruising and strained or pulled muscles she had received for her efforts. Somehow, she had come to the conclusion that it was Ranma's responsibility to nurse her back to health.

"Yeah, whadda ya want now, Misato?" Ranma asked with a tone of resignation.

"I was wondering if you could give me another of those wonderful rubdowns," Misato mewled pathetically, while giving him a little girl pout.

Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure, Misato," Ranma sighed again. "I'll just go get some water."

"Could you please do it in that form," Misato pleaded, turning the pout on him again.

"Okay, Misato, just this one time," Ranma growled, picking up the liniment. "But it's been three days. It's my day off and I don't plan on spendin' it around here waitin' on you hand and foot."

"You're absolutely right, Ranma," Misato beamed. "After you give me my rubdown, you can set me up on the balcony with a cooler of beer and you can go do whatever you like."

Ranma gulped as Misato levered herself up and painfully peeled off her shirt before laying face down on her futon clad in only her, rather skimpy, panties. When Ranma had protested this the first time, Misato had dismissed the protest since Ranma had his own set of female body parts and Misato couldn't see any reason why she should be any more modest than she would be in front of any other woman. Of course, Ranma had been in girl form at the time, but evidently Misato wasn't making a distinction.

On the other hand, Ranma figured she was probably enjoying teasing him, especially with the way she would moan his name sensually as he worked the analgesic into her sore muscles. It was effective too. Misato was without a doubt a certifiable babe, like his perverted friends were so fond of pointing out. It took every bit of Ranma's self-control not to show a reaction to having her soft skin under his hands.

Ranma had to smirk though. She may have enjoyed teasing him, but she ended up being the one frustrated. He knew a lot of massage techniques and pressure points that he had learned from Doctor Toufuu. Some of them were quite sensual when used just so. Thanks to his familiarity with the female body, Ranma was quite aware of the effect he was having on Misato, knowing the signs to look for, both in her ki and her body. Yes, she may have been teasing him, but she was the one left with damp panties, flushed and panting with arousal.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma finished with Misato, leaving her a quivering mass of frustrated female hormones and went to clean up. After washing the liniment off his hands, he walked by Rei's room to see her laying on her futon staring at the ceiling. It was the same position she had been in since completing their morning workout and finishing breakfast.

"Rei?" Ranma asked from the door.

She looked over at him.

"Are you going to stay there all day?" Ranma asked the blue-haired girl. "I mean, it's your day off. Don't you wanna do anything for fun?"

"I do not understand," Rei replied. "We have completed our morning training and have had breakfast. What else are we required to do?"

"Well, that's sort of the point," Ranma said. "We don't have to do anything. We can do somethin' just for fun."

"I do not understand," Rei said.

"You mean you've never done anything that you weren't ordered to just because it made you feel happy?" Ranma asked.

Rei cogitated on this for a while before a light blush bloomed on her face. She had indeed done things she wasn't ordered to because they made her feel good, but for some reason, she was reluctant to tell the pigtailed pilot about them.

"No," Rei said at last.

"Well, it's about time you started," Ranma grinned cheerfully. "Come on. Get up and get dressed. I'm gonna introduce you to the art of having fun, starting with an education in the joys of ice cream!"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

A half an hour later found two girls walking down the street. They appeared to be polar opposites of each other. One had light blue hair and crimson eyes while the other had vibrant crimson hair and bright blue eyes. It didn't stop there. While one was stoic and reserved, with her face in a neutral set, the other had an easy smile and a vivacious attitude.

Rei was wearing a pair of powder-blue shorts and a red top that was short enough to flash glimpses of her flat midriff. On her feet were her strappy, white sandals. Ranma was wearing a pair of black, stretch, denim shorts and an azure blue, tailored, sleeveless top that displayed her impressive assets nicely. The neckline was low enough for a tantalizing hint of cleavage to be seen. She was also wearing a pair of strappy sandals except hers were black.

The redhead was currently engaged in an animated explanation of the finer points of scoring extra treats by use of the devastating "doe-eyed" technique. This technique could be used with great effect when coupled with the judicious application of the "chest bounce" technique, which, the redhead assured the stoic blue-haired girl, was enough to send any male ice cream attendant with a libido scrambling to provide an extra scoop of Turtle Tracks, extra fruit in a parfait, or double the hot fudge on a sundae or banana split.

After a demonstration of the techniques, Rei was forced to conclude that they were indeed effective as even she was filled with the desire to make her redheaded companion happy, even if she didn't fully understand how. She also wondered why it suddenly felt uncomfortably warm out.

The girls had just reached the entertainment district when they saw two familiar boys.

"Hey Toji. Hey Kensuke," Ranma chirped cheerfully.

The two in question turned toward the girl who had greeted them. Catching sight of Ranma and Rei, their jaws dropped.

"R-Ranma?" Toji stammered. "Uh...hi. W-what's going on?"

"Rei and I were just going for some ice cream," Ranma explained.

"W-why are you a girl?" Toji blurted. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh this ole thing?" Ranma smiled mischievously. "I just threw this on. Anyway, ice cream tastes much better as a girl. I dunno why, but it does. Chocolate becomes like a religious experience."

Ranma's face took on a dreamy look as she contemplated the virtues of chocolate. The two boys felt their hormone levels spike in spite of the fact they knew Ranma was a guy...mostly.

"W-would you mind if we joined you?" Kensuke stuttered, trying desperately to keep from blushing.

"Sure, why not," Ranma chirped happily.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Fifteen minutes later, the two boys gaped as Ranma was engaged in the sensual experience of wolfing down a bowl of ice cream of monolithic proportions. Rei sat beside her, across from the boys, having her own religious experience. While her serving wasn't nearly as large as Ranma's and she hadn't been able to bring herself to employ the techniques Ranma had demonstrated, she had still netted a double portion of hot fudge and an extra cherry because Ranma had ordered hers for her since she had no idea what to order. Not that she knew any better, never having had such a confection before.

With her first spoonful, Rei discovered nirvana. Surely, this was the food of the gods. Rei had actually whimpered in pleasure as the sweet, creamy taste exploded on her palette. Glancing over, she found Ranma's sparkling blue-gray eyes meeting hers. The redhead sported a wide, knowing smile, which prompted Rei's face to bloom into her first true smile.

For Ranma, seeing Rei's smile of true pleasure, which not only graced her lips but was also reflected in her eyes, was a thing of beauty. It made Ranma unbelievably happy to have been the one to put that smile on the stoic girl's face. That alone made it worth all her efforts to befriend the blue-haired girl.

The boys could only look on in shock at seeing Rei acting like a real person rather than the emotionless automaton they had become familiar with from class. For the first time they saw how attractive she really was. They were both in awe, both of Rei and of Ranma who seemed to have melted the ice maiden somehow.

"So boys," Ranma grinned as she polished off her ice cream, "my mission today is to teach Rei how to have a little fun. I got to thinkin' though; I'm not much an authority on that myself. My idea of fun has always been trainin' or fightin'. I'm curious what normal people do for fun. You guys got any ideas?"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

As it happened the guys did have some ideas. Toji seemed to have the best ones since Kensuke's ideas of fun were running around in the woods playing war or ogling military equipment. Ranma had nixed the "laser tag" and arcade ideas due to that being a little too close to what they did at NERV. Thus the pair of girls and the two boys found themselves playing miniature golf.

This was something that Ranma found herself enjoying a lot. The various challenges presented tested her skills and made for some humorous blunders on behalf of the guys. Neither of them could compete with Rei's logical analysis of the angles and trajectories necessary to put the ball on course for the hole nor Ranma's intuitive understanding of the same and her precision in hitting the ball on target.

Kensuke was currently taking his turn when things became interesting.

"Toji!" a female voice called out.

Everyone turned to see Hikari Horaki approaching the group. The girl shot a withering glare at Ranma before she smiled brightly at Toji.

"Hi Toji," the girl said brightly. "What are you doing here? Who's your date? I don't think I've ever seen her around before."

Toji laughed nervously.

"Oh, um this is Ranma..." Toji started before Ranma interrupted.

"I'm Ranma's sister, Ranko," Ranma said quickly. "And he ain't my date. They are just showing Rei and me some places to have fun around here."

Hikari blinked, then blinked again. She was trying to wrap her mind around someone using Rei and fun in the same sentence and was failing miserably.

"I...see," the confused girl said faintly before brightening. "Then you won't mind if I join you then?" Not only would she get to spend some social time with Toji, but Rei having fun was just something she had to witness for herself.

"Sure," Ranma chirped. "The more the merrier."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

By the end of the day, the five teens had managed to have a lot of fun together. Toji and Kensuke had left the three girls to head home when Hikari took the opportunity to ask about something she had noticed.

"Ranko?" the brunette asked hesitantly as they walked together. "Why do Toji, Kensuke, and Rei all call you Ranma sometimes?"

Ranma sighed heavily before looking at the girl speculatively.

"Ya wouldn't believe me if I told ya," Ranma said finally. "Look, I don't want this to get out all over the school 'cause it would just cause me problems. Can I trust ya to keep it a secret?"

"I-I suppose so," Hikari said, confused. She wondered what the girl had to tell her. It couldn't be that she was a lesbian. Her brother pretty much declared that on the first day of class. Come to think of it, Hikari never saw the girl in any classes at school.

"Hikari, I am Ranma," Ranma said.

The class rep couldn't have been more shocked. All she could do was stare at the obviously insane girl. There was no way in hell the petite redhead was that hunky guy in drag. As the redhead began to explain about Chinese curses and magic, Hikari began to wonder if the reason she hadn't seen the girl in school was because she had escaped from some mental institution.

"Well, I can see ya don't believe me," Ranma grinned wryly. "I can prove it if you want to stop by for a few minutes."

"This I have to see," Hikari replied.

Twenty minutes later, Hikari was coming to with the scent of smelling salts in her nose.

"Believe me now?" Ranma asked. "And please don't go accusin' me of being some kind of pervert. I never asked for this but I'm stuck with it. Believe me, I know too much about what dealing with perverts is like to even think of acting that way myself."

"This is...weird," Hikari said.

"Heh, tell me about it," Ranma snorted. "You should see what it's like from this end. I know more about girls than any guy has a right to. It's really important that you don't tell anyone about this. Once it got out at my old school the showers became a nightmare. Even though I beat the crap out of anyone who tried it, the fact that there was a gorgeous naked girl just a splash of cold water away was too much for most of those perverts to resist."

"Oh my," Hikari said with wide-eyes. "I never thought of that. It must have been awful."

"It was, believe me," Ranma said. "If I wasn't the best martial artist in Japan there's no telling how many times I would have been sexually assaulted."

"Don't worry," Hikari assured him. "I won't tell anyone. Thanks for trusting me with your secret. I have to ask, why were you a girl today?"

"Because Rei and I were going for ice cream when we ran into Toji and Kensuke," Ranma explained. "They both know, by the way, so you don't have to worry about me and Toji. It's pretty obvious that you got a thing for him." Hikari blushed. "Anyway, I always eat ice cream in girl form because for some reason it tastes a lot better that way."

"Oh, well, that's nice to know," Hikari smiled. "You should call me up the next time you go out for ice cream. Then I can show you and Rei what girls do for fun."

"You mean it? You don't think I'm some sort of freak and you wanna be my friend?" Ranma asked in surprise.

"Sure, why not?" Hikari asked.

"It's just that most girls feel like I'm trying to take advantage of them because of the curse," Ranma explained. "They tend to get a bit violent, like I went out of my way to deceive them. But I'm not like that. I know a guy that turns into a little black piglet and he uses it to slip into a girl's bed to sleep with her and to nuzzle her breasts. It makes me really mad when it happens but I can't say anything to her because before he started deceiving her, I had promised him on my honor that I wouldn't tell anyone about it because he's pretty much helpless in that form."

"That's horrible," Hikari said in disgust. "And the way he used your word of honor against you makes him a complete low-life as well as a cad. It must have been hard for you not to say anything."

"I tried giving hints and stuff, but the girl never could catch on," Ranma shook his head sadly. "The worst part about it was she always took his side over mine and would get mad at me when the guy attacked me either as a guy or as her pet pig."

"Well, I must say, his curse suited his true personality," Hikari commented. "Anyway, I don't think you're anything like that. You're probably the one guy that can really understand what it's like for a girl. I think that's kinda neat, so yes, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you and Rei."

"Thanks," Ranma smiled, glancing over at Rei, who also gave Hikari a small smile.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Akane held P-chan up by the bandana and looked into the piglet's eyes. They were wide and full of fear. She shakily reached over and picked up her cup of tea and dumped it on the struggling piglet.

"You unbelievable BASTARD!" Akane screamed at the naked Ryoga as her aura exploded around her.

Jumping to her feet she produced the biggest mallet ever seen, mallet-sama plus 5 verses perverts. It had a depleted uranium core with titanium faces and was guaranteed to put the smack down on Godzilla. Thor would have been proud to wield it. Ryoga began running. Akane began to pursue. The rest of the people in the room cheered Akane on as her rage was being directed at a deserving target this time.

Everyone except Shampoo, who seemed oddly subdued. Cologne looked at her great granddaughter in sympathy. She had long known that the girl wouldn't be the one to capture Ranma's heart, but that was a brutal way to find out the man you loved didn't return the sentiment. Not that she blamed Ranma. She knew the boy was too kind-hearted to be that cruel intentionally, but he had no way of knowing that they were watching his adventure.

Cologne suspected that all the girls would be hearing a few harsh truths about where they stood in Ranma's candid thoughts. She just hoped for their sake the truth wouldn't be as cruel as hearing the man they loved say he would just as soon forget about them.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	7. Chapter 7

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 7**

After seeing Ryoga off to the hospital via mallet-sama plus 5 vs. perverts, the group gathered together in the family room. Genma was whining about how dishonorable his son was to have not told his fiancée about the pig in her bed while Soun was wailing about his daughter's honor being sullied due to Genma's dishonorable son.

"What panda-man and human-flood talking about?" Shampoo asked angrily. "You both know about pig-boy's curse but you not say anything to kitchen-destroyer so Ranma be jealous. Ranma no say anything because give word before pig-boy become pet. What your excuse?"

Both men froze as three battle aura's burst into existence. All three Tendo sisters were glowing a furious blue and glaring at the two men.

"Is this true, Daddy?" Nabiki asked in a deceptively sweet voice. "Did you allow that pig to take advantage of your own daughter just to make Ranma jealous?"

"Now, Nabiki," Soun waffled. "You see it wasn't..."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Nabiki shrieked, breathing heavily. "How DARE you! It was bad enough that you abandoned us as a father. It was bad enough that you stopped bringing in income when you stopped teaching classes. But now we learn that you don't even have the common decency to tell us when we're being taken advantage of? I bet if one of us was being raped you wouldn't lift a finger to help, would you?"

"WHAAAAA, my daughters hate me!" Soun wailed.

"SHUT UP!" Akane screamed. "I've had it with your stupid games. The act isn't working anymore, Soun Tendo!"

Soun screamed like a woman as Mallet-sama plus 5 vs. perverts slammed down in the space he was sitting in a fraction of a second before. Genma opened his mouth to defend his friend but instead, he also screamed like a woman as the Saotome family honor blade passed through the space his neck had been occupying a mere heartbeat before. Both men looked at each other and ran for their lives.

"Perhaps we should return later, Tendo, once they've cooled off a bit," Genma huffed.

"Quite right, Saotome, quite right," Soun puffed.

Everyone else settled back down and had a little tea to calm themselves before beginning the tape again.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"This is so awesome!" Kensuke gushed as he shot video out the window of the massive transport helo that he, Toji, and Ranma were currently riding in.

Ranma smirked as she tuned the overly enthusiastic boy out. She looked out the window and mentally prepared herself to meet the pilot of Eva Unit 02. Ranma had to handle the girl carefully if she wanted to get past the inflated ego and arrogance of the mask the girl wore. Too much and she would alienate the other girl. Too little and the girl wouldn't respect her. This was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done because she was going to have to carefully consider each of her actions beforehand.

"So where are we going, Misato?" Toji asked.

Misato looked over her shoulder from her position in the right-seat of the helo.

"Well, I thought you guys might be tired of being cooped up in the mountains so I thought I'd take you on a date to that cute little boat down there," Misato smiled.

Toji's mind locked up at the thought of being on a date with Misato and he began blubbering hormone-induced gibberish. Kensuke looked out the window and freaked out.

"Oh my god! Look, look, look!" Kensuke shrieked excitedly. "One, two, three, four, five aircraft carriers and four battleships! It must be the entire UN Pacific Fleet down there!"

"Cute little boat?" Toji asked, coming out of his hormone-induced fit and sweat-dropping as the helo approached the biggest carrier.

"Yeah, it is sort of amazing that this rusty old relic still floats," Misato commented.

"But this is the _Over The Rainbow_!" Kensuke protested. "She's the pride of the Pacific Fleet, a pre-Second Impact super carrier!"

As the helo began powering down, Kensuke exploded onto the flight deck, videoing everything while excitedly listing all the military hardware like some sort of techno-phile. Toji chased after his hat, which had blown off when Kensuke opened the door of the helo's passenger compartment. Ranma followed Misato, looking bored and unimpressed, while Misato looked chagrinned at Kensuke's weird enthusiasm.

Toji caught up to his hat when a small foot in a red shoe came down on it. Looking up, Toji blinked as he saw Ranma standing there wearing a pretty yellow sundress.

"Hey Ranma, what the hell are you wearing and when did you change?" Toji said, reaching down for his hat. He tugged on it but Ranma didn't move her foot. "Yo, Ranma, you can get off my hat now."

This only prompted the redhead to grind her foot on top of the hat. Being Toji's brand new hat, Toji became angry. He took a swing at the redhead, fully expecting her to avoid it like she always did so she would step off his hat. He was very surprised when his fist connected with Ranma's diaphragm and sent the redhead crashing to the deck several feet away, gasping for breath.

"Yo, Toji, what the hell did ya do that for?" Ranma said, stepping around the stunned Misato and Kensuke. "Not everyone with red hair can avoid a punch like me ya know."

Toji gaped as he saw Ranma in the same clothes she was wearing on the helo, a tight, midriff-baring, hunter-green top, a pair of denim shorts and a pair of thick-strapped, dark leather sandals. He looked over and saw Ranma...no, that couldn't be Ranma...the girl he had hit sprawled inelegantly on the deck, skirt blown up around her hips, gasping for air. Then it occurred to Toji that he had just hit a real girl. His mind shut down in shock.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ranma said kneeling beside the girl and adjusting her skirt for modesty. "Sorry about that. Let me help you."

Ranma hit a couple of pressure points to get the girl breathing again and helped her to her feet, though she was still crouched over clutching her abused diaphragm.

"Thank you," the girl said faintly.

"Ah, man, your pretty dress is ruined," Ranma said sadly, looking at the grime it had picked up when she landed on the deck. "Toji's a jerk sometimes, but I don't think he meant to hit you. I think he thought you were me. You want me to kick his ass for you?"

It was then that the girl finally looked up at the person helping her and froze.

"Who...?" the girl asked in confusion.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Ranma Ikari, pilot of Eva Unit 01," Ranma smiled. "The jerk over there is Toji Suzuhara who had better be doing some apologizin' and boot-lickin' if he knows what's good for him when he gets over the shock. The little guy with the weird obsession for all things military is Kensuke Aida. And then there's my guardian, Captain Misato Katsuragi, who seems to have spaced out as usual. And you are?"

"Oh, um, I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu, pilot of Evangelion Unit 02," Asuka said, a bit of her fire returning. "So you're the Third Child? I thought the Third Child was a boy."

"It's a long story," Ranma smiled. "But you have to wait a few days before you get a demonstration. I'm kinda stuck like this at the moment."

Asuka looked at Ranma suspiciously and then turned to Misato and gave her a questioning look. Misato giggled.

"She's telling the truth, Asuka," Misato confirmed. "She's Ranma Ikari and it _is_ a long and weird story. We'll tell you later. My goodness, Asuka, you've really grown since I last saw you. It's amazing. While Ranma might be slightly more developed than you, the pair of you could be identical twins."

Asuka's eyes narrowed as she turned her glare on Ranma. Contrary to popular belief, Ranma had learned her lesson even if she didn't always choose to abide by it, particularly with Akane, whose holier than thou attitude brought out the worst in her.

"She was just teasin' you, Asuka," Ranma assured her, waving her hands in a placating gesture. "Really, I'm no bigger then you are. But she is right about one thing, except my hair is a bit brighter shade than yours and I'm wearin' it differently, we could be twins. I really hope we can be friends."

This was certainly not the way Asuka expected this to go. She had planned on a proud entrance where she could display how superior she was. Instead she got gut punched and the Third Child could have passed for her twin. She glanced at the girl in question who was currently bouncing the big jock around the deck like a basketball, evidently as punishment for hitting her. Soon the boy was kneeling in front of her with the pigtailed redhead standing behind him with his arm twisted around in a submission hold.

"Now don't you have something to say to the nice girl, Toji?" Ranma asked sweetly. "I know you don't want me to tell Hikari what you did, do ya?"

"I-I...OWW, alright already, I'm sorry for hitting you, Miss Sohryu," the boy said. "It was an accident. I thought you were Ranma and you could avoid the punch."

"Very good, Toji, now kiss her shoes," Ranma smirked, forcing the boy down to Asuka's feet. "And if ya look up her skirt, I'll break your fingers."

Asuka goggled as the boy kissed her shoes while grumbling about taking Ranma's guy-status away.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

After a brief pissing match between the Admiral of the UN Pacific fleet and Misato where they were introduced to Kaji Ryoji, Asuka's guardian and apparently someone Misato would have just as soon not seen any time soon, the three girls and three guys found themselves crammed in a small lift headed down to the galley.

"GET YOUR HAND OFFA THERE IF YOU WANNA KEEP IT," the three females yelled in unison.

"We can't help it! There's nowhere else to put them!" the guys yelled back.

"PERVERTS!" the women yelled.

When the lift doors opened, three females walked out dusting their hands off and headed to the galley, leaving three twisted and broken males on the floor of the lift.

"Owwie," one of them said as they crawled out of the elevator after the girls.

They had mostly recovered by the time they reached the galley and sat down at the table with the women who were chatting over tea.

"So you're the famous Ranma Ikari, huh?" Kaji shot the redhead in question a suave grin. "I read your profile, but I must say I was a bit dubious about it. I guess it was accurate."

"Famous?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, you're quite a phenomenon in the defense community," Kaji said. "So you're living with Misato then?"

"Yeah, me, Misato, and Rei Ayanami share a condo," Ranma agreed.

"The First Child is living with you too?" Kaji asked, a little surprised.

"That's us, one big happy family," Ranma shrugged.

"So tell me, is Misato still wild in bed?" Kaji smirked.

Asuka goggled at her Kaji asking such a perverted question. Misato's face was turning purple with fury. The two boys grabbed their noses before they could explode in a spray of blood.

"She does seem to thrash around a lot in bed," Ranma said, smirking at Misato. "She looks really cute when she comes out in the mornin' with her hair standing on end with giant cowlicks and stuff."

Everyone but Kaji and Ranma found themselves peeling their faces off the galley floor.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So what do you think of Ranma?" Kaji asked Asuka as they leaned on the railing overlooking the flight deck.

"She seems nice," Asuka said. "I don't know what the big deal is though."

"The first time piloting an Eva, Ranma reached an 82 percent sync ratio with no prior training," Kaji pointed out.

"Mein Gott!" Asuka exclaimed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma rode the escalator in silence while Misato ranted about how Kaji hadn't changed a bit and was still a big jerk after all this time. The pigtailed pilot tuned her out and concentrated on why she had been feeling edgy since they landed. Then it occurred to her. It was Adam. She new Kaji was bringing Adam to Gendo. Ranma had thought about slipping into the Umisenken and finding Kaji's cabin to destroy the angel, but she eventually scrapped those plans.

Her one advantage over Gendo was that she knew how events were to proceed. Unfortunately, if she killed Adam now, she would stir up a hornet's nest that might limit her options in the future. More importantly, it would change how things played out and she really didn't want to try anticipating Gendo's plans if he didn't have Adam in his possession. Besides, for all she knew, they could clone the angel again and she'd be back at square one.

Ranma was shaken out of her thoughts by the appearance of Asuka at the top of the escalator.

"Come on, Third Child, you're coming with me," she said arrogantly.

"Sure thing, Asuka," Ranma said, giving her a smirk.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So what's your story anyway?" Asuka asked as they got on the transport helo to head over to another ship.

"Not much to tell really," Ranma shrugged. "Pop left me with his sadistic cousin when I was six to train me in the martial arts. From then on I did nothing but train to fight and it's something I'm really, really good at. I've found I can translate most of my art into piloting the Eva and there's some techniques I can use that really improve my sync ratio. If you want, I can teach them to you. I'm already training Rei, the pilot of Unit 00."

"Or maybe I can teach you how to be a real Eva Pilot," Asuka smirked arrogantly. "I am the best after all."

Ranma bit her tongue, hard. She couldn't afford to get into a verbal pissing match with Asuka at this point. It was going to be hard enough once Asuka realized that Ranma was a better fighter than her.

"I'm sure you can teach me a few things, Asuka," Ranma said sweetly. 'Like the limits of my self-control,' she added mentally as they landed on the heli-pad of the transport ship.

"Come with me," Asuka commanded the pigtailed redhead who began grinding her teeth.

'Mustn't run my mouth. Mustn't run my mouth. Must control myself. Must control myself,' Ranma chanted mentally as she followed the other redhead.

Asuka led them over to the edge of a tarp and lifted it up, looking inside.

"Well?" Asuka prompted.

"Well, it's an Eva," Ranma said carefully.

"It's not just an Eva! It's _my_ Unit 02!" Asuka said snidely.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka stood perched on the top of her Eva looking as if she were the queen of all she surveyed. Ranma knew what was coming and she gathered herself to resist the urge to say something that wouldn't help the situation much.

"My Unit 02 is the first production model Eva," Asuka said imperiously. "It's much more powerful than Unit 00 and Unit 01 which were the prototype and test models respectively. That's why you were able to sync with Unit 01 so easily. It's the test model so anyone could sync with it."

"Or it could be that I know certain techniques that allow me to achieve a better sync ratio than someone who doesn't know the techniques," Ranma mentioned. "Techniques, I might add, that are documented and proven effective."

Before Asuka could reply, the ship shook with an explosion nearby.

"Mein Gott, what was that?" Asuka said as she nearly slipped off her perch.

"Let's go see," Ranma said. "I hope it's not an angel." The last was added for deniability purposes because Ranma knew that's exactly what it was.

The twin redheads rushed to the top deck and headed to the railing just in time to see the angel destroy another ship.

"Meine Gott!" Asuka exclaimed again.

"It's an angel!" Ranma yelled over the noise of another explosion. "You ready to put that tin-can of yours to the test?"

"Unit 02 is _not_ a tin-can and we'll show you what a real pilot and Eva can do," Asuka shot back. "Come on!"

Asuka grabbed her bag from the Eva and led them down one corridor until she found a stair well. Ducking in, she pulled two plug suits out and tossed one to Ranma before she began to strip. Ranma immediately spun around the corner.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Asuka demanded. "Hurry up and get changed!"

"Asuka, you know I'm really a guy, right?" Ranma replied. "I just don't wanna hear no crap about me being a pervert because you stripped in front of me."

Ranma heard Asuka laughing hysterically.

"Yeah, right, you're a guy," Asuka snickered. "You sure are stacked for a guy. And it must be really tiny to be able to hide it in those shorts."

"Okay, I'm a girl right now, but I was born a guy and I'll change back as soon as my period is done," Ranma snapped as she started undressing around the corner from Asuka. "I just don't wanna get accused of using this body to be a pervert when I do."

"Well, you sure as hell look like a girl from here," Asuka smirked from behind Ranma who had bent over to remove her panties.

Ranma 'eep'ed' and blushed, but began putting the plug suit on. Getting everything in place, Ranma hit the control that sucked the suit up tight to her body. The girls headed back toward the Eva.

"So you've had your period already?" Asuka asked in an almost timid tone.

"Unfortunately," Ranma said. "Started several months ago."

"What's it like?" Asuka asked almost pleadingly.

"It sucks," Ranma said categorically. "I get all bloated and crampy. My breasts hurt. Sometimes I get a headache. And then there's the mood swings. I can't tell you how many times I've had to hold myself back from rippin' your fuckin' head off because of that superior attitude of yours today."

Asuka's eyes widened and she blinked at her companion.

"Don't worry about it," Ranma said shooting her a lopsided grin. "It's bad form to rip a new friend's head off on the first day you've met. It just takes being aware of your mood and controlling yourself. Come on. We have an angel that needs killin'."

Asuka nodded, a little subdued at the rather frank way Ranma had mentioned she had been resisting the urge to cause her grievous bodily harm. She had been starting to get the impression that the other redhead let people walk all over her, but this tidbit of information, that Ranma had really been trying to resist the urge to kick her ass in a fit of hormonally induced outrage, and seeing the way Ranma handled that goon Toji, Asuka had no doubt that she could, that put a whole new spin on things.

Asuka grinned a little. Maybe she and Ranma could be friends after all.

Hurrying up the gantry, Asuka ejected the entry plug and opened it up.

"Hop in," she instructed. "Now you get to see what Unit 02 can do."

Ranma got in and Asuka followed her.

"Show me whatcha got, Asuka-chan," Ranma smirked. "Oh and I don't know German so you might want to start it up in Japanese and save yourself some time initiating the system."

"Okay," Asuka said, beginning the start up sequence.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Alright, Asuka!" Misato cheered as the people on the _Over The Rainbow_'s flag bridge saw Unit 02 stand up with the tarp that had been covering it wrapped around it like a cloak.

"You in the mecha! Nobody authorized the activation of that toy!" the admiral yelled into the com. "Shut it down at once!"

"Don't listen to him, Asuka," Misato said, snatching the mic from his hand. "We'll get the power cable set out for you. Just remember, you're using B-type equipment. It won't work under water, so don't fall in."

"Roger, Misato," Asuka said cheerfully.

"It's coming in, Asuka!" Ranma's voice could be heard announcing.

"Yeah, I see it," Asuka said as the Eva crouched and leapt into the air just as the angel plowed into the freighter and broke it in half.

The Admiral winced as the cloaked Eva came down on the top of an Aegis cruiser, buckling its superstructure.

Misato grinned as Unit 02 began to jump from ship to ship, headed for the carrier. The admiral sat in his chair having an apoplectic fit as each ship the Eva landed on was severely damaged.

"Ma'am, the power cable is tied into the reactor and is ready to go," a tech informed Misato.

"Asuka, the power cable is ready as soon as you get here. We also brought some toys for you to play with. Ranma thought they might come in handy if we were attacked," Misato relayed. Noting that Unit 02 just landed one ship away she added, "Everyone brace for impact!"

The Eva crashed down on the carrier deck moments later causing the ship to list heavily to starboard. Aircraft and equipment began to roll off the deck as Asuka stabilized herself by grabbing the island. Shifting her weight to the port side of the ship, the carrier slowly managed to right itself.

As the ship stabilized, Asuka reached down and plugged in her power cable with 5 seconds of battery power remaining.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Grab the spears, Asuka," Ranma instructed. "They'll give you a little better range than just your prog knife."

"Roger," Asuka said as she picked up the spears.

"Here it comes," Ranma pointed.

"Got it," Asuka said as she set herself.

The angel leaped high out of the water with its mouth open wide. Ranma saw the core in its throat and was about to point it out to Asuka when she drew back and hurled a spear down the angel's throat. The spear glanced off the core, cracking it, but didn't manage to destroy it.

"Good shot," Ranma commented as the angel came crashing down on the flight deck of the carrier.

Asuka was forced to drop the remaining spear, which managed to slice an aircraft neatly in half, to try and grapple the angel overboard. As the angel thrashed, trying to alternately crush the Eva with its mass or bite the Eva with its huge teeth, Asuka tried to set herself to get enough leverage to dump the angel overboard.

In doing so, the Eva's foot came down on one of the elevators to the hanger deck. The elevator failed as it was subject to weights and stresses far in excess of what it was designed for and both the angel and Unit 02 went over the side. The angel swam off leaving Unit 02 dangling from the power cable.

"It won't move!" Asuka said with a hint of panic.

"It's okay, Asuka," Ranma reassured her. "It'll move, just not a lot. However, the angel will be back in a minute and I have an idea. I'll have to take control of your Eva. Sorry, but we only have one shot at this."

"No way," Asuka protested. "I'm not giving you control of my Unit 02."

"I don't need you to _give_ me control," Ranma said, beginning to infuse her ki into the Eva's AT field.

The Eva resisted a little, likely Asuka's influence trying to keep control, but Ranma managed. The angel had come back around and was swimming right for them with its mouth wide open.

"Stupid," Ranma commented as she began focusing her ki and the Eva's AT field into a tightly condensed ball between the Eva's hands. She waited until the angel was at point blank range and thrust the Eva's arms out shoving the ball of energy toward the angel and crying, "Mouko Takabisha!"

The golden ball of AT-boosted confidence ki streaked forward, right into the angel's mouth and hit the damaged core, vaporizing it. The angel's body bubbled up and exploded violently, tossing the Eva up out of the water and back on to the flight deck of the carrier.

"What the hell was that?" Asuka demanded.

"That was a ki blast, boosted by the Eva's AT field," Ranma said tiredly. The blast had taken a lot out of her.

"What the hell is a 'ki blast'?" Asuka asked, still in shock. "And how the hell did you take control of my Eva so easily."

Ranma quickly explained the concept of ki to Asuka, showing her a weak ki ball when the other redhead doubted her.

"As to how I took control," Ranma explained. "It has to do with the techniques that you were so ready to dismiss. I infused my ki into the Eva's AT field. That's how I achieve my high sync ratio. That's basically how we sync with the Eva's in the first place, but you and Rei, and anyone else who don't know the techniques, do it through the transmitters." Ranma tapped one of the transmitters on Asuka's head. "A good enough martial artist can infuse weapons with their ki to both strengthen the weapon and make it easier to control. Basically, I'm infusin' my ki into the Eva, which allows me a much higher level of sync and a more direct link to the Eva. That's how I overrode your control."

"I-I see," Asuka said faintly.

"Don't worry, Asuka, you did great," Ranma said reassuringly. "That was a really good shot with the spear. You almost nailed it right there. If the deck hadn't collapsed and dumped us overboard you would have had it on the next pass. You did real good for your first time in real combat."

"Um...thanks, I guess," Asuka said a little glumly.

She had really wanted to be the one to destroy the angel to prove she was the best. She should have been angry with Ranma for taking that away from her, but what the other girl did...it was just unbelievable. Asuka couldn't hope to match anything like that. And yet the girl wasn't throwing it in her face either. Asuka didn't know how to react.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Daaamn!" Ritsuko said in awe, looking over the data as she and Misato sat in a jeep parked beside the carrier on the dock. "This is fantastic! I never suspected something like this was possible."

"We got some good data on the angel, huh?" Misato said proudly.

"On the angel, hell," Ritsuko disagreed. "Do you realize that Ranma took control of Unit 02 from Asuka and then projected some kind of AT energy blast to destroy the angel?"

"Asuka mentioned something like that," Misato said. "That's our Ranma for you though. Doing the impossible and making it look easy."

"He's the most amazing person I've ever met," Ritsuko agreed. "Christ, I want to bear his children."

Misato started laughing hysterically.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji and Kensuke stood at the bottom of the gangplank and watched as the bright red Eva was lowered to the dock. Toji looked back and saw Asuka riding down followed by Ranma, both still in their plug suits. Toji got an evil grin on his face.

"Hey Ranma, looking good babe," Toji said. "I think you look better in her plug suit than she does."

Asuka glared at him and stomped off angrily.

"Fuck you, Toji," Ranma snarled. "Man, you can really be a jerk sometimes, you know that?"

"What did I do?" Toji asked.

"Like you don't know," Ranma said darkly. "First you hit the poor girl and then you insult her by sayin' I look better than her. Now get your ass moving and go apologize to her again or I'm gonna give you a beatdown your great grandchildren will still be feeling. Tryin' to embarrass me is one thing, but she didn't deserve that."

"Shit! I didn't think about that," Toji slapped his hand to his forehead. "You're right, Ranma. I'll go apologize."

Ranma and Kensuke watched as Toji ran to catch up to the other redhead. He spoke a few words to her and then she drew back and slapped him hard.

"Now that, he had coming," Ranma giggled.

Kensuke just nodded in agreement; glad he wasn't on the receiving end of it.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Man, I sure am glad we don't have to see that violent chick again," Toji said, sporting a hand-shaped bruise on his face. "Although the way Ranma was acting, I don't feel sorry for him having to work with her. Jeez, you would think she was more girl than boy."

"Maybe he likes her or something," Kensuke said. "You'd stick up for a girl you liked too."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, but I can't say much for his taste in women," Toji commented. "That Asuka chick is a real female dog, if you know what I mean."

"Class, we have a new student starting today," Steinakawa-sensei said, putting three students to sleep before finishing the sentence.

Toji and Kensuke stiffened as they saw a head of red hair attached to the person writing on the board. Then said person turned around with a flip of her hair.

"I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu," she said with a smile.

Toji's eyes were wide with horror as he shakily pointed toward the new girl, mouthing 'it's her'. Kensuke cringed behind the jock.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

'I'm impressed,' Nabiki thought as she hit the rewind button. 'Ranma actually managed to keep control of his tongue for a change.'

"Oh my," Kasumi said pleasantly, echoing Nabiki's sentiments out loud. "Ranma did a very good job handling that Asuka girl. Although I'm not pleased with the language she used."

"And Akane can't even accuse him of being a pervert for watching her undress," Ukyo pointed out.

"Yeah, but the pervert is giving Misato nude rubdowns," Akane pointed out, still stewing over the whole Ryoga thing.

"He really didn't want to though," Ukyo argued. "It was her that was teasing him. And the nerve of the blonde hussy saying she wants to bear his children."

"My son is so manly," Nodoka cheered, whipping out her victory fans and doing her happy dance.

Nabiki just shook her head at the silly behavior of the people around her.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	8. Chapter 8

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 8**

By the time the following afternoon rolled around, the interested parties had once again gathered at the Tendo home to view the next tape of Ranma's adventure in the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Soun and Genma had attempted to sneak in late the night before after the last bar kicked them out, only to find three irate daughters and one positively nuclear wife laying in wait for them. After the tape had finished, the Tendo sisters, the Amazons, and Ukyo had filled Nodoka in on everything they knew about Ranma's life and the utter stupidity he was subjected to by his father. The Tendo sisters were still incensed that their father had allowed Akane's honor to be stained so.

Consequently, while Nodoka was applying some much-belated corrections to her husband's attitude, Soun was being taken to task for his own shortcomings. Both men were currently bandaged, bruised, and in traction. They had been propped up against the back wall of the family room out of reach of the tea and snacks, and pretty much given the cold shoulder by everyone else in the room.

A tear rolled unchecked down Genma's face as he gazed longingly at the tray of finger foods that Kasumi and Nodoka had prepared for this evening's showing. Soun, in contrast to both his normal self and Genma, merely sat impassively with a thousand-yard stare. Such was the result of his daughters venting years of frustration over their virtual abandonment followed by his attempts to suddenly tell them who they would marry as if their only value was to secure his future comfort.

It hadn't been pretty. Even the gentle Kasumi had gotten in her licks. Yes, things were changing and Soun would not be the one in control when they finished.

As for everyone else, they ignored the two men and discussed the focus of their gathering briefly before beginning the next tape.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hey Asuka!" Ranma called out, rushing to catch up to the girl as they were leaving NERV. "Wait up."

"What do you want, Third Child?" Asuka demanded snidely.

"Aw, man, you're not still sore about the battle, are you?" Ranma asked, catching up to the other redhead.

"Idioten, you had no right to take control of _my_ Unit 02," Asuka said angrily. "I could have beaten that angel if you hadn't interfered."

Ranma bit her tongue...hard, swallowing the ill-advised commentary that fought to make its way past her lips.

"Look, all I can say is that I'm sorry," Ranma said evenly. "I may have been a little out of line..."

"A little?" Asuka shrieked. "You may have been a LITTLE out of line? Mein Gott, that's like saying the surface of the sun is a little hot. That's how far out of line you were."

"I said I was sorry, okay," Ranma said, her voice raising a bit as she struggled to control her own temper, loss of which would lead to her foot firmly planted in her mouth. "I've had more experience with fightin' than you have. I saw a way to take the angel out quickly and I took it. That's how I am okay? I see somethin' that needs to doin' and I just do it. It wasn't anything against you or a slight on your abilities. How can I make it up to you?"

"Who says you can make it up?" Asuka spat.

"So that's it then? You're gonna throw away a chance at friendship because you were deprived of a chance to show off?" Ranma asked glumly, looking at the hostility in Asuka's eyes for a long moment before turning away. "You're not the only one that lost her mother and whose father abandoned her, ya know. I just figured we could be good friends because we had a lot in common, and not just because we could be twins at the moment. We both had a crappy childhood. We both are driven to be the best. We're both Eva pilots. We both pretty much only have superficial friends because nobody can really understand what we've been through. Guess I fucked that up like I usually do. Sorry. We could have been really good friends, ya know."

Ranma walked off feeling somewhat angry for failing to win Asuka over and sad because without someone to be there for her, Ranma would have to watch the girl slowly self-destruct.

"Hey, wait!" Asuka yelled, catching up and walking beside Ranma. "I never said you couldn't make it up to me."

"I ain't gonna kiss your ass or worship the ground you walk on or nothin'," Ranma said cautiously. "Ask Pop, I don't do boot-lickin'."

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Asuka asked.

"How about we start with me takin' you for ice cream?" Ranma suggested.

"You're buying? Anything I want?" Asuka asked.

"Whatever you want," Ranma nodded.

"Okay," Asuka agreed. "That'll work for a start. You also have to agree to let me fight the next angel without interfering. And you have to teach me those techniques you use."

"I can't guarantee about the angel," Ranma said. "That depends on what the Old Fart and Misato decide. If I have a say in it, then it's all yours. As for trainin', that I can do."

"Fair enough," Asuka said with a grin and held out her hand.

Ranma looked at the hand for a moment before she recognized it was one of those Western customs used to seal the deal. She reached out and shook Asuka's hand.

"You know," Ranma mentioned as the two girls headed toward the ice cream shop, "we can still be rivals AND best friends too."

Asuka blinked at her companion before she broke out in a wide grin.

"I suppose you're right," Asuka agreed. "Nothing like a little friendly competition."

"Yup," Ranma smirked. "By the way, you're invited over for dinner tomorrow. It'll be me, Rei, Misato, Dr. Akagi, and Kaji. We have some things to show and tell you and Kaji. Pretty unbelievable stuff."

"Okay," Asuka said. "This has to do with the confusion over your gender?"

"Pretty much," Ranma nodded. "You and Kaji will get the whole story then."

"Okay," Asuka agreed. "I still don't believe you're a guy. I've seen the full-Monty after all."

"Well, don't be expectin' to see it tomorrow night," Ranma laughed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sighed in relief as she settled into the furo and felt the change tingle through him for the first time in the last few days. It felt good to be a guy again. He relaxed into the hot water, intent on enjoying his guy-time since it was only temporary until tomorrow night when they explained things to Asuka and Kaji.

That was the plan anyway. Unfortunately, like most plans involving Ranma, it was doomed from its inception. The harbinger of this plan's demise was currently opening the door to the furo and stepping in.

Ranma looked around to see Rei, naked as a jaybird, entering the washroom.

"GAH!" Ranma exclaimed. "Rei, I'm in here. Do ya mind?"

"No, I do not mind, Ranma," Rei said dispassionately, completely missing Ranma's meaning as she sat on the stool and began washing herself.

Meanwhile, Ranma was having a mental meltdown. There was a naked girl in the bathroom with him. In the bathroom, where he was, there was a naked girl. Ranma was in the bathroom where there was also a naked girl; a rather cute naked girl; and he was naked too. Naked girl in the bathroom plus an equally naked Ranma equals Ranma's time as a living entity was coming to an abrupt (and hideously painful) end.

Ranma's rational mind imploded, downgrading his thought process to the instinctual fight or flight mode. Since there was nothing here to fight, his instincts determined that flight would be the appropriate response. Thus Ranma leaped from the water and burst from the bathroom into the hall, practically into Misato's arms.

"Lookin' good, Ranma," Misato slurred drunkenly and giving him a lecherous grin as her eyes crawled all over his naked body. They came to rest on one particular area. "Is that for me? Why thank you," Misato said reaching out.

Ranma screamed like a girl and fled to his room, slamming the door shut and pushing the dresser in front of it. Looking around wildly for mallet happy tomboys, he leaned against the dresser in relief. His rational mind managed a successful reboot at this point.

'If I didn't know Rei was incapable of being a pervert, I'd think I was living in a house full of them,' Ranma thought, picking himself up and beginning to get dressed.

Back in the furoba, the blue-haired girl in question sat on her stool washing. Her lips had formed what could only be described as a mischievous smile as she considered the success of her plan.

'That,' she thought to herself, 'was...very nice.'

Out in the hall, Misato just shrugged in disappointment and went about her business.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Ma'am, the naval cruiser Haruna reports pattern blue contact approaching in Tokyo Bay!"

"Damn," Misato swore. "We still haven't finished repairs from the 5th angel. Get the transports ready. We'll have to meet it at the shoreline. I'll go get the kids and meet you at the airstrip."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Two Evas stood on the beach having been air-dropped into position. The power cords were installed and they each had a progressive naginata in hand as they waited for the angel to appear.

"Remember, Ranma, you promised this one is mine," Asuka declared from her crimson and yellow Eva.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma sighed from her midnight-blue and green Eva. "It's all yours, Asuka. I'm just here for back up."

"Just keep out of my way," Asuka commanded.

Suddenly, the water in front of them exploded upward into the air. When it fell back down, the pair saw the angel standing in the water before them. It looked like something out of a b-grade horror film with gray-skinned long arms arcing about its headless body. Set in its torso was a round structure that resembled a stone yin-yang symbol.

"Watch my back, Third Child!" Asuka called. "CHARGE!"

"Charge?" Ranma asked, putting her face in her hand at such a cliché battle cry.

The crimson Eva leaped to attack, bouncing off of various partially submerged buildings before leaping high into the air with the naginata held high. Asuka descended on the angel with a mighty overhead strike that split the angel in two, top to bottom.

"Heh, that's how a battle should be, simple and elegant," Asuka said haughtily.

"Um...Asuka? You missed the core. It's not dead," Ranma pointed out.

"What? Of course it's dead, Idioten," Asuka argued. "I split it in half."

"Then why's it still moving?" Ranma asked in exasperation.

"GAH!" Asuka exclaimed looking over her shoulder. "W-what? How?"

The split angel reformed into two slightly smaller angels of the same shape, only now the reddish cores could be seen just below the yin-yang structure. Also different was that instead of gray, one was blue and the other red.

"Can I help now that there's two of them?" Ranma asked.

"Um, yeah, I suppose that would be okay," Asuka said, sweat-dropping.

"Good, I'll take the blue one; the red one is yours," Ranma suggested.

"Right," Asuka said.

The Evas set themselves as the angels began their attack. Asuka immediately found herself on the defensive as the smaller angels proved to be insanely fast. Ranma was fairing a little better as she swung her naginata in the wide arcs practiced in her naginata kata while avoiding the energy beams the angel fired at her.

Though the angel was fast, Ranma's training was proving to be a match for it. She closed with the angel, plunging her naginata into the yin-yang structure. Releasing the weapon she stepped in and unleashed a Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken on the red core with her Eva's fists. The core cracked and shattered and the angel stopped moving.

Ranma pulled her naginata free and started to turn to assist Asuka. As she turned, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking back she saw the angel's core reform before she had to duck and roll as it fired its energy beam at her.

"Um...Asuka, I think we're going to have to destroy the cores at the same time," Ranma called over the comm. "I just took mine out and it reformed."

"Right," Asuka acknowledged.

Unfortunately, this proved to be easier said than done. While both pilots managed to destroy the cores of their respective opponents several times, it had proven nearly impossible for them to line up the killing blows at the same time. The beginning of the end came when Asuka's angel leaped out of the way of a fierce overhead naginata swing and caused Asuka to sever Ranma's power cable.

Twenty seconds after Ranma's Eva run out of power the angels double teamed Asuka and defeated her.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Maya Ibuki narrated as a slide show of the battle was shown at the debriefing. When it got to the slide showing the defeated Eva's, Asuka couldn't contain herself.

"This is all your fault!" she yelled at Ranma.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "All my fault? Just how the hell do ya figure that?"

"You just couldn't manage to beat your half at the same time as me," Asuka shouted jumping up.

"Now just wait a damn minute," Ranma said, also jumping up and pointing to the slide. "You're the one that cut my power cord. Until you did that, it was only a matter of time before we managed to destroy them at the same time. Besides, I destroyed mine five times before _you_ took me out. You only managed three times."

"Why you..." Asuka snarled as the two redheads faced off growling at each other.

The impending scuffle was interrupted by the continuation of the slide show. Maya continued the debriefing telling them that, after the Evas were defeated, control of the operation was turned over to the UN who dropped an N2 mine on the angels. The N2 mine managed to send the angels into a period of regeneration, which was calculated to last another six days.

"Pathetic," Fuyutsuki said as he presided over the debriefing. "We have all been humiliated by you...children."

"What?" Ranma and Asuka shrieked at the same time.

Suddenly, Fuyutsuki was being held up by his lapels by Ranma, who was glowing with a furious blue battle aura.

"Humiliated?" Ranma asked coldly. "You want humiliated? You're gonna be humiliated when this hundred-pound _child_ beats your brown-nosin' ass down. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I won't put up with this from the ole bastard, and I for sure won't put up with it from his boot-lickin' toady. You think you can do better, then get your crusty old ass out there and show us what'cha got. Otherwise, shut up and reattach your lips to Pop's ass."

By this time, everyone else in the room was gaping and Fuyutsuki had a dark stain spreading on the front of his pants as Ranma fixed him with a sub-arctic glare. Glancing down at the wet spot on the former professor's pants, Ranma smirked evilly and dumped the man back in his chair.

"Now that's pathetic," Ranma sneered in contempt. "Pissin' your pants in fear of a 14-year-old girl. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're just the kind of spineless worm the Old Fart likes to surround himself with; someone that doesn't have the spine to stand up to him."

"I..." Fuyutsuki's voice came out a couple octaves higher than normal so he started again. "I-I could have you arrested and detained for this."

"Yeah, right," Ranma scoffed. "I double-dog dare ya to try it. If you do, then I walk out of here and none of you assholes will ever see me again. How's that fit into the Old Fart's plans, huh?"

Ranma stood back and crossed her arms, waiting to see if the Sub-commander had the nerve to carry out his threat. When it became clear that the follow-through wasn't forthcoming, Ranma turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

"Whoa," Kaji said in awe. "She's got balls as big as church bells."

Asuka and Maya just nodded, their minds completely blown.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato sat at her desk looking at the huge stacks of complaints from the various civic organizations that were filed in the wake of the battle.

"Wow," Ritsuko said as she came into Misato's office. "Looks like you're going to be busy."

"Tell me about it," Misato groaned as Ritsuko started leafing through the various complaints.

"Let's see, we have one from the Department of Commerce, one from the City Council, here's a bill from the UN..."

"And they all say the same thing," Misato added. "'If you're going to fight, please don't do it here.'"

"You'll be lucky if Sub-commander Fuyutsuki doesn't bust you back to Lieutenant," Ritsuko said.

"It was just a bit of good luck in the bad that Commander Ikari wasn't here," Misato agreed.

"Yup," Ritsuko agreed. "If Commander Ikari had been here you'd have been fired. However, if I were you I'd avoid Fuyutsuki for a while. He's liable to still fire you after what your charge did in the debriefing."

Misato groaned.

"What did Ranma do now?" Misato asked tiredly.

"Well, it seems that the Sub-commander said that their performance was humiliating and Ranma took exception to that," Ritsuko smirked. "She started glowing with that battle aura thing she does and hoisted him up by the lapels and told him she wouldn't take that from her father and she for sure wouldn't take it from a, and I quote, 'boot-licking toady' like him. She then threatened to beat the snot out of him and made the Sub-commander piss himself right in front of everyone."

"She didn't," Misato said, banging her head on the desk.

"And that's not all," Ritsuko smirked. "Then she taunted him about pissing himself in fear of a 14-year-old girl. He threatened to have her arrested and she told him to go right ahead because if he did she was walking and we'd never see her again. She left when the Sub-commander backed down."

"Well, shit," Misato commented. "What am I gonna do with her?"

"I'd say ignore it," Ritsuko said. "Ranma is aware of what's at stake and she knows her value around here. As long as she's willing to do her job, then that's all we can ask."

"But she's undermining the discipline," Misato protested. "What if the other children or staff start flouting the chain of command?"

"So what do you suggest? Make an example of Ranma?" Ritsuko asked. "We have no hold on her, Misato. She could easily follow through on her threat and walk out of here and we wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop her, short of shooting her."

"I guess," Misato sighed. "So please tell me you have a brilliant plan to deal with this angel and save my job."

"You mean like this one?" Ritsuko smirked, casually waving a computer disk.

"I just knew you would come through for me, my dear friend, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi," Misato said, brightening.

"Well, as much as I'd like to claim the credit, it wasn't me that came up with this little gem to save your heiny," Ritsuko laughed lightly. "It came from your sweetie, Kaji."

"From Kaji?" Misato asked, disgusted, but then her face took on a wistful look.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I'm home," Ranma called out as he came in the door.

After leaving the briefing room he had changed back to a male and went for a walk to calm down. It had really jerked his chain that that ass-kissing toady had decided to play Monday morning quarterback and try to tell them they were an embarrassment. Ranma still had to laugh about the old geezer pissing himself.

Entering the apartment, Ranma noted the boxes stacked everywhere and groaned. He had forgotten about this in his anger. He sighed and girded himself for the fun to begin.

"Hey, who the hell are you and what are you doing in here?" the expected voice demanded.

Turning, Ranma faced Asuka who had just come out of the bath in a pair of shorts, a tank top and a towel over her shoulders.

"Well, I had really wanted to wait until this evening, but I guess it'll have to be now," Ranma said with resignation. "Hi, I'm Ranma. Sorry 'bout this."

"Yeah, right, and I'm Kaji Ryoji," Asuka scoffed. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing but if you don't leave I'm calling the cops."

"Look, I can prove it. Come with me," Ranma said, stepping by her into the bath and filling a bucket with cold water.

Ranma proceeded to explain to Asuka about the curse, its triggers, and effects. He then proceeded to demonstrate by dumping the water on his head. Asuka gaped, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as her mind refused to process what she had just seen. It went against just about everything in her world-view. It was, well, magic. Her firm grounding in science had left her ill-prepared for anything outside its bounds.

Ranma dipped the bucket into the furo and poured some hot water on her head. Walking up to Asuka, he waved his hand in front of her face. There was no response as Asuka just stood there staring wide-eyed at Ranma.

"Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked, snapping his fingers in her face. "Heh, the lights are on but no one's home."

"Showed her the transformation, huh?" Misato asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah," Ranma confirmed. "I was male when I got home. Didn't expect her to be here. She came out and saw me so I had to explain. I think I broke her."

"I'll handle this," Misato smirked.

With the day she had, this was just what she needed. Picking up the bucket she filled it with cold water as Ranma stood back. Drawing back, Misato threw the contents of the bucket on the stricken girl's face.

"What the hell did ya do that for?" Asuka sputtered angrily, becoming animate once more.

Misato snickered.

"You blew a mental circuit when Ranma showed you his transformation," Misato explained with a large grin. "I was just resetting the breaker to get your brain back online. You can thank me later. Right now we have some things to discuss. Come along children."

Misato breezed out of the bathroom and headed for the dinning room with Ranma and Asuka following.

"What'dja wanna tell us, Misato?" Ranma asked once they were seated.

"Well, first off, I heard about your little performance in the debriefing, Ranma," Misato said.

"Look, if you're thinkin' about givin' me another lecture on chain of command, save your breath," Ranma replied. "I wasn't interested then, and I ain't interested now. I'll just tell you the same thing I did then. You want someone that follows orders and kisses ass, then hire yourself a soldier. I ain't lettin' no brown-nosin' jag-off talk trash about me and Asuka when he couldn't find his own ass with both hands and a roadmap on the battlefield."

"But don't you understand how you are undermining discipline with everyone else?" Misato tried reasoning with the recalcitrant pilot.

"Like I give a damn," Ranma sniffed. "It ain't my problem. If people follow my example and give the old farts a hard time, well, that works for me. Anything that irritates Pop is a good thing in my book."

"So there's nothing I can say that will change your attitude then?" Misato sighed.

"Look, Misato, we've been through this before," Ranma said. "Respect is a two-way street. I respect your authority because you respect my opinion when I have a better idea. My pop and his toady don't respect anyone but Gendo Ikari and they can both kiss my ass."

"They could have you shot, ya know," Misato said.

"They could try," Ranma returned. "They'd find that a little more difficult than it sounds."

"I suppose the big, bad martial artist is bulletproof too, huh?" Misato asked sarcastically.

"Bullets aren't that hard to dodge when you know they're coming," Ranma smirked. "And it ain't like they could send someone to sneak up on me."

Misato threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Well, since I can't talk any sense into you about that, then let's move on," Misato sighed. "We have a plan to fight the angel when it becomes active again. We think Ranma's assessment that the cores have to be taken out at the same time is correct. In order to do that, the two of you will have to begin synchronization training so that you can move in time with each other."

"How are we gonna do that?" Asuka demanded.

Misato held up an SDAT.

"You'll practice in time to this music and the music will be playing during the battle," Misato explained. "You're moves will be precisely choreographed so that you both land the finishing blow at the same moment. You have six days to train. During that time you will eat, drink, and live together."

Asuka looked at Ranma, who was nodding in understanding.

"Well, I expected to live with you anyway, so I guess it's not that big a deal," Asuka commented.

"So you're not gonna start callin' me a freak or a pervert or nothin' are ya?" Ranma asked hesitantly.

Asuka looked thoughtful. She had to admit to herself that it was her first impulse, but she knew Ranma wasn't a pervert. She...he...whatever, had made it a point to avoid being in sight of her while she had been dressing. In fact, Asuka had seen more of Ranma than vice versa. Also, there was the fact that his guy form was cute...REALLY cute. Sure, it was weird that he turned into her nearly identical twin when splashed with cold water, but that was sort of intriguing. Add to this that he was a friend and had always been straight with her, she found herself unwilling to belittle him for something he couldn't control and didn't ask for.

"It's weird," Asuka admitted. "But I'm okay with it. That doesn't mean I won't tease you sometimes, but, no, I don't think you're a freak."

Ranma blinked. He had really expected more trouble from Asuka. He had expected her to throw their budding friendship away like Akane did, accusing him of being a freak and a pervert with no evidence other than what was fabricated in her own mind.

More and more, Ranma was coming to understand what an abusive hypocrite Akane was. Not only did she almost always falsely accuse him, she never trusted him. The fact that she always took the pig-boy's side when it was clear that Ryoga would attack him on sight with no provocation on Ranma's part had hurt a lot. Ranma had dealt with that, even cared for Akane, because he thought it was normal.

Now he was in this strange world and he was beginning to see things in a different light. Rei, Misato, Dr. Akagi, Hikari, and, now, even Asuka treated him with acceptance and offered friendship instead of ridiculing him because of his curse.

Ranma was deeply touched and it reflected in the smile he gave Asuka. Asuka blushed under the radiance of Ranma's warm, happy smile.

'Kaji who?' Asuka thought as she returned the breath-taking smile.

It was then that Rei stepped into the room.

"Oh, hi, Rei," Ranma said, turning the incandescent smile on the blue-haired girl.

"Hello, Ranma," the dispassionate girl said, blushing slightly.

"Asuka, this is my friend Rei Ayanami, the pilot of Unit 00," Ranma said cheerfully. "Rei, this is my newest friend, the pilot of Unit 02, Asuka Langley Sohryu."

"I am pleased to meet you, Pilot Sohryu," Rei said emotionlessly.

"Likewise," Asuka said, giving Rei a speculative look.

"Do you also wish to be friends?" Rei asked evenly. "Ranma indicates that we would work together more efficiently if we were engaged in a friendship."

"Um...riiiight," Asuka said, giving the blue-haired girl an odd look. "Sure, we can be friends."

Ranma smiled proudly at Rei. While the girl was still a bit on the emotionally sterile side, she was coming along nicely. She would probably never outwardly be a very passionate person, but to Ranma, that was part of her charm.

Meanwhile, Rei was looking at Asuka who was looking at Ranma with a speculative look. Perhaps she could enlist the girl's help in claiming Ranma. Given Ranma's obvious desirability as a mate, perhaps the new girl would like to be a part of the relationship as well. Ranma did say that he didn't like possessive girls and Rei had no problems with sharing.

Misato stifled a giggle as she looked between the three. It was going to be amusing to see how Rei dealt with some competition. It was obvious to her that Asuka was also attracted to the pig-tailed pilot, and her observation of Rei since she had come to live with them had convinced her that she was pursuing the boy in her own odd way. Oh yes, home life was about to get very entertaining.

"Okay, now that you girls have met," Misato smirked. "We need to discuss sleeping arrangements."

"Huh?" Asuka asked.

"Well, during your synchronization training, we will all be sleeping in the living room together," Misato explained. "Afterward, though, you and Rei will be sharing a bedroom."

"WHAT?" Asuka demanded. "I must have my own room!"

"Well, we could always have Rei move into Ranma's room and share with him," Misato grinned.

"Erk!" Ranma choked.

"That would be acceptable," Rei interjected, almost...eagerly.

"No way!" Asuka protested. "That wouldn't be fair...I mean...right, for Rei to sleep in the same room as Ranma. I guess I'll just have to deal with having a roommate."

"Well, if you're sure, Asuka?" Misato fought to hold back the laughter. "Is that okay with you, Rei?"

"I feel that my relocation into Ranma's room would be the most satisfactory alternative," Rei pontificated. "However, I shall agree to whatever Ranma desires in this matter."

A smile appeared on Rei's face and then disappeared so fast that Asuka wondered if she saw it.

"I-I think," Ranma stammered, gulping uncomfortably as all three females were now looking at him expectantly, "that it'd be best if you shared with Asuka, Rei. Not that I wouldn't want ya to sleep with me or nothin', but it might cause problems."

Misato was mentally rolling on the floor in hysterics. The boy had pretty much just waved the green flag in front of Rei's face judging by the broad smile and the blush that bloomed on the blue-haired girl's face. Misato couldn't help herself. She had to stir the pot a little.

"Well, I don't know," Misato giggled. "You and Rei have been dating for a while now."

"We have?" Ranma blinked.

"Taking her out for ice cream, going on double dates with Toji and the Horaki girl, shopping together," Misato listed.

Of course Misato knew that neither of the mentioned boys was thinking of their outings as dates, but it was also equally clear that the girls did. At least the Horaki girl did, but she was certain that it made little difference to Rei. Whether it was called a date or not, it was still spending time with a boy she was attracted to.

Ranma gaped for a moment before his eyes rolled upward and he fell back in a dead faint.

"S-so, h-he's your boyfriend?" Asuka stammered in disappointment.

"I do not mind sharing, Pilot Sohryu," Rei said coolly. "If you wish to pursue Ranma yourself, perhaps we could work together."

Asuka gaped at Rei. Misato gaped at Rei. Ranma twitched in his unconsciousness. Rei smiled a brief but mischievous smile. Pen Pen waddled through on his way to the freezer.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"THAT PERVERT!" Akane shrieked. "As if he doesn't have enough girls, he's got to go out and get more!"

"Um...Akane," Nabiki sweat-dropped as Nodoka danced by, singing about her son being so manly. "I don't think he's trying to get more girls. I think they are the ones trying to get him."

"And the JERK called me an abusive hypocrite!" Akane ranted. "If he comes back, he's going to get such a beating!"

Everyone sweat-dropped as Akane continued ranting.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	9. Chapter 9

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**AN: **_I just wanted to take a minute to submit my rational behind Asuka's acceptance of Ranma's curse. Mainly, I wanted to do something different. Almost everyone would expect Asuka to react with ridicule, and that's probably accurate. However, there are factors here that I believe would mitigate that to some extent. First off, Asuka isn't the type of girl that hides her attraction to a guy. Look at how shamelessly she pursued Kaji. She is attracted to Ranma's guy form and she has also respects him as a fellow warrior, especially after the scene with Fuyutsuki. Thus she has a choice, alienate someone she respects and is attracted to by ridiculing him, or accept it and move on. I had her choose the more mature course._

_I also would like to apologize to anyone that was offended about Ranma's turn of phrase when he implied that soldiers were ass-kissers. That was more a case of Ranma putting his foot in his mouth and it was certainly not my personal view. I just didn't realize how harsh it sounded until I posted the chapter._

_The last chapter marked a transition for the story. It will become much more serious now, darker, but also more WAFFy as the romance factor kicks into gear._

_Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. I'm honored that this story has been so well received. And a special thanks to Weebee for his assistance in ferreting out the remaining errors. I meant to add his name to my credits when I uploaded the corrected chapters but it slipped my mind. FFdotNet's document manager is totally screwed so it's too big a pain in the duff to go back and just upload altered chapters unless there were major changes. When they fix the problem, I'll address the oversight on my part. Sorry, Weebee._

**Chapter 9**

"That's Ranma for you," Nabiki said to Kasumi while the fiancée brigade ranted to each other about Ranma collecting more girls. "I don't know why it is, but he seems to draw girls in like a homing beacon wherever he goes."

Nodoka hid her grin behind her hand at the comment. She didn't know why there was a shrine to Bastet, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of fertility, in Japan, but when she found out about the Goddess's area of influence, she had to go in and pray for a blessing for her then unborn son. She wanted lots of grandchildren after all.

Nodoka's look turned dark as she fixed her husband with a baleful glare. Of course, Genma had done everything in his power to counteract the blessing, starting with the Nekoken, then telling Ranma that women were a distraction from the Art and ensuring that any experience that Ranma did have with a woman was an unmitigated disaster.

Nodoka sighed. Ranma so loved cats before her husband took him away on that foolish training journey. It indicated Ranma's affinity to the Goddess that blessed him.

Nodoka turned her attention from her battered husband to the TV as Nabiki started the next episode of Ranma's adventure.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"My goodness, this is delicious, Ranma," Kaji said as he finished eating. "You'll make someone a fine wife someday."

Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko all snickered. Rei sat impassively as always. Ranma was not amused, as was made clear when a chopstick went sailing across the table to smack Kaji across the forehead hard enough to leave a bruise.

"Owwie!" Kaji exclaimed, rubbing the reddening line across his forehead.

"Oh gee, sorry about that, Kaji," Ranma said sweetly. "It seems my chopstick got away from me."

Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko snickered louder and even Rei's lips quirked into a fleeting smile.

"So when do I get to see this magical transformation of yours?" Kaji asked, trying to ignore the fact that he hadn't even seen Ranma move when she hit him with the eating utensil.

Rei, who was sitting beside Ranma, reached over and dumped her tea on Ranma's head.

"I guess now would be as good a time as any," the now-male Ranma deadpanned, shooting a look at Rei.

Rei developed a hint of a smile but it was gone before anyone but Ranma saw it. Ranma sighed and turned back to Kaji and began to explain the curse. Several minutes and a few demonstrations later, courtesy of Asuka, who was sitting on Ranma's other side, and Rei, Kaji was looking at Ranma intrigued.

"Wow," the older man grinned lecherously. "What I could do if I could do that."

"Pervert," Misato growled as both she and Ritsuko looked a bit green at the prospect.

"You'd probably get your ass kicked a lot," Ranma commented, causing Misato and Ritsuko to laughingly agree.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma stared at the ceiling. She was not a happy camper. It wasn't because she was currently female. Nor was it because she was banished into this weird world that appeared to be based on an apocalyptic anime. No, she was not happy because she wasn't going to make it to the end of the anime to have to worry about seeing an apocalypse.

She was quite certain her life would be forfeit as soon as the two sleeping girls on either side of her awoke. As per Misato's plan, Ranma and Asuka would be sleeping in the same room. Misato would be joining them to chaperone, talk about leaving the fox to guard the henhouse, and just so she didn't get left out, Rei had also joined them.

Thus the living room was the current location of four futons containing three sleeping women and one wide-awake, sometimes-female, pig-tailed martial artist who was currently pursuing a fatalistic train of thought.

A camera flash suddenly illuminated the room. Correction, the room now contained two sleeping women, one fatalistic, some-times female, wide-awake martial artist, and a 'chaperone' wearing a wicked grin and holding a camera.

And just what was the reason for said martial artist's morbid opinion of her life expectancy and the 'chaperone's' wicked grin? That would have everything to do with the fact that the two sleeping girls were currently tightly snuggled up to the martial artist in question. Worse yet, one of the girls currently had a handful of a well-developed fleshy formation on the martial artist's chest with a leg thrown over between Ranma's own for good measure. The other girl's hand was resting on Ranma's lower belly, dangerously close to somewhere that would have been...improper, and she too had a leg thrown over both Ranma's and the other girl's.

Suddenly, Misato appeared in Ranma's view as the redhead stared at the ceiling while contemplating her doom. Misato's grin had become downright evil now. She presented a kettle for Ranma's inspection. Ranma's eyes widened as she immediately grasped the older woman's intent. Her eyes began to plead as she mouthed silent denials. This only made Misato's eyes sparkle with mirth and her grin to grow larger as she began to carefully tip the kettle, dribbling just enough hot water to trigger the change, and then courteously toweling off the water.

The girls shifted and mumbled a little in their sleep as Ranma's greater male mass displaced them slightly. The hand on his chest squeezed his now hard pectoral muscle a couple of times before relaxing again. The other hand that was resting dangerously close to somewhere unmentionable was no longer merely close; the matter was firmly in hand, as it were. This hand also gave a few experimental squeezes, causing Ranma to stifle a gasp and turn beet-red.

Ranma's eyes tracked his betrayer as she walked around the room and set the kettle down, once again picking up her camera. Several flashes later, the traitorous woman settled down with a cup of tea to await the festivities bound to happen when the girls awoke. Not content to allow things to happen at their own pace and thus allowing Ranma a few more precious moments of life to live, Misato grinned as she set the alarm clock to go off in another five minutes.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. She was feeling very warm and comfortable and really didn't want to get up, but the alarm was insistent. Slowly, her brain was banishing the fog of sleep from her mind as it brought her systems online. Her internal diagnostics told her she was comfortably warm and had a wonderful night's sleep, a rare thing for her since she was almost always plagued with nightmares that would leave her feeling drained in the morning.

Internal systems checked, her awareness expanded to her outer condition. This revealed she was snuggled up to her nice warm pillow. Her leg was thrown over it and a few exploratory squeezes revealed her hand was firmly grasping its thick handle. The pillow was inflating and deflating slightly in a relaxing, even repetition...wait a minute!

Firstly, her mind told her, pillows don't inflate and deflate. Secondly, they don't typically have handles either. Thirdly, she couldn't ever remember a pillow being quite this warm and firm. Asuka's blue eyes snapped open and she froze.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Meanwhile, Rei was running similar diagnostics as she too was pulled from her sleep by the wretched alarm. Her start up sequence was much faster than Asuka's, as was her grasp of her position. Add to this her lack of indoctrination to popular social dogma, meant rather than panicking, she simply lay there enjoying the warm feeling of being cuddled up to her Ranma. Thus, her crimson eyes were open and a content smile graced her lips when Asuka's blue eyes popped open wide and met Rei's as a deep blush colored her cheeks.

Rei winked at the redhead reassuringly and her content smile grew a little bigger as her crimson eyes flicked upward suggestively, conveying to Asuka to follow her lead.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Sweat began to form on Ranma's brow as he recognized by their breathing and investigative groping that the alarm had done its job in waking the girls up. Any minute now, he'd be a dead man. He felt the redhead pressed to his left side stiffen in alarm. The blue-haired girl, in contrast, remained relaxed.

He watched as two pairs of eyes, one set crimson and one set azure, slowly looked up to meet his own stormy-ocean blue ones. He gulped and waited for the unspeakable violence to begin.

Therefore, he was quite surprised when he felt the blushing redhead relax with a little sigh as she smiled at him and gave him a little squeeze before removing her hand almost reluctantly from its place on his body. His brain completely blew a circuit when they both craned upwards and gave him a little kiss on their respective cheeks before Asuka spoke.

"Good morning, Handsome," she said softly, settling back in for another momentary snuggle before she sat up.

Rei just gave him a shy smile and little squeeze before she too sat up.

"Morning, Girls," Misato chirped with a teasing grin. "Did you sleep well?"

"That was the best night's sleep I can ever remember," Asuka smiled, blushing a little darker if that was possible.

"I too feel more rested than is customary," Rei commented.

"How about you, Ran...ma..." Misato trailed off as she looked at the boy who had taken advantage of his freedom when the girls let go of him. He was currently curled into a tight fetal ball in the corner of the room with his arms held protectively around his head. "Hey, what's with you?"

The girls looked around and saw Ranma quivering in the corner looking like a terrified young child about to be beaten by a drunk, abusive stepfather.

Now ordinarily, aside from cats, Ranma wasn't afraid of anything, as he would normally be quick to point out, especially not physical abuse. However, there were several factors here that were working against his mental state. Among these was the fact that he was in this world-not-his-own facing a rather grim demise. There was also Akane's conditioning, which was normally suppressed, where any contact with a girl would lead to immediate and brutal consequences. And then, there was his confusion at how comfortable he was being snuggled. But the biggest factor that led to his current reaction was guilt. Ranma felt an enormous amount of guilt that he had been enjoying the feelings of the two young girls snuggled tightly against him and the feelings of their hands on his body.

Because he liked having the girls snuggled up to him, in his mind, that equated to him having taken advantage of them and therefore he lost the moral high ground he would normally have clung to when he wound up in a compromising situation with a girl. Add to that the girls were only fourteen while he was, in reality, seventeen, made him feel like a true pervert. Of course, it wasn't lost on him that a less than three year age difference was nothing in terms of adult relationships and there was the fact that his father and Mr. Tendo were going to make him marry Mr. Tendo if he wasn't able to get his curse unlocked that time with Herb. That thought made him shudder. However, the first thought didn't really help him much, and the second made him feel even dirtier.

So Ranma sat in the corner fully believing that he deserved to be beaten to death, or at least into a coma, in a brutal manner and fully expected for the beating to commence as soon as the girls found suitable weapons. They had each given him the Kiss of Death after all. It was completely lost on him that the kisses might have meant something else entirely.

"Ranma?" Rei asked softly as she reached out to touch him.

The boy flinched away with a whimper. Nothing the girls or Misato did could coax the boy out of his defensive ball. He just begged them to kill him and get it over with. After an hour of coaxing, Misato realized that there was something horribly wrong here, so she called in support in the form of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

An hour and a half after Ritsuko had arrived and managed to coax Ranma into his room, she stepped out and slid the door shut with exaggerated care. The blonde doctor then walked down the hallway, past the three expectant-looking women gathered at the table, and out onto the patio. Misato's eyes bugged when she saw her normally cool and unflappable friend begin to destroy her patio furniture in a fit of rage-fueled violence while issuing a string of multi-lingual profanity that would have made a gangsta-rapper blush.

Once there was nothing left on the patio bigger then a fist to destroy, Ritsuko straightened her clothes and combed her hair back into place with her fingers. Taking a few breaths, she turned calmly and reentered the condo, seating herself at the table.

"Um...Ritsuko? What the hell was that about?" Misato asked carefully.

"Sorry," Ritsuko said, not really sounding sorry at all. "I had to vent before I did something...rash."

"I see," Misato said, not seeing. "And how is Ranma?"

"Ranma is fine for now," Ritsuko answered calmly. "I gave him a sedative to calm him down."

"So what happened?" Misato prompted, beginning to get irritated that she was having to pry the answers from the blonde who had just laid waste to her patio.

"It seems that before being summoned to Tokyo-3 by his father, Ranma was forced to live in the same house with a psychotic bitch," Ritsuko said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "It seems that the girl would accuse him of being a pervert and beat him with a variety of blunt, sometimes makeshift, weapons for so much as speaking to a girl. At the time, he was also being pursued by several other violent psychopaths that would throw themselves at him. This always resulted in him being beaten severely by one or more of them."

"Daaamn," Misato said in dismay. Suddenly, a lot of the reactions Ranma had to even a hint of flirting made a lot more sense.

"Essentially, Ranma has been conditioned that any affectionate contact with girls will result in large amounts of pain immediately thereafter," Ritsuko explained.

"So he's going to do this every time a girl expresses an interest in him?" Misato asked incredulously.

"Well, the reaction this morning was rather extreme because of the added component of guilt he felt," Ritsuko explained. "Unlike the other times, where he didn't welcome the contact nor was even attracted to the girls for the most part, he believes he took advantage of Rei and Asuka because he's attracted to them and enjoyed being cuddled with them. Because of this, he feels that he deserves to be 'beaten to death for his crimes'. He even thinks the girls both gave him something called the Kiss of Death, which is apparently some sort of declaration of intent to hunt you to the ends of the Earth to kill you in some primitive Chinese Amazon culture he was exposed to."

"You're kidding?" Misato asked weakly.

"I wish I was," Ritsuko said tiredly.

The blonde doctor looked over at the girls and goggled. Asuka was staring wide-eyed in shock, which was understandable. It was Rei that truly stunned Ritsuko. The girl she had come to think of as being as cold and emotionless as a machine sat there with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Rei? Why are you crying?" Ritsuko asked, curious.

"Because it saddens me that Ranma believes I wish to kill him," Rei answered. "It angers me that he was tormented so. And it frustrates me that I wish to help him, but my presence will only make him feel worse."

Asuka looked over at the other girl. After a moment, the redhead pulled the other girl into a hug and Rei's floodgates opened. She began to sob into the redhead's shoulder, which took Ritsuko completely aback.

"So what can we do?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko looked at the two girls appraisingly, then down at the photos Misato had taken of the three of them this morning.

"Am I to understand that the two of you are interested in something more than friendship with Ranma?" Ritsuko asked.

"I-I...g-guess so," Asuka stammered, blushing deeply.

Rei didn't answer. She just nodded her head as she cried on Asuka's shoulder.

"Hmmm," Ritsuko remarked. "Typically, conditioning can be broken by showing the conditioned person positive responses to the events they have been conditioned against. In this case, this can be achieved by demonstrating to Ranma that it's okay to accept the affection of girls without being beaten and that the proper response is to return that affection."

"S-so w-we can h-help him by showing him affection?" Rei hiccoughed hopefully, pulling herself together and disengaging from Asuka.

"It won't be easy," Ritsuko cautioned. "It won't happen overnight, but yes, I think you can help him. He likes both of you so inside he wants you to show him affection. He just needs to learn that accepting it won't make him a pervert or get him beaten. I can tell you one thing, if I ever see those psychotic little bitches that did this to him, I swear I'll put a bullet in their abusive little heads."

"Geez, Ritsuko," Misato said in surprise, glancing at her destroyed patio. "You seem awfully emotional about this. It's not like you."

"I guess Ranma sort of grew on me," Ritsuko blushed. "He's a good kid. He's got his father's drive, but he actually cares about people. Lord knows why with the shit he's been through. That appeals to me. He also reminded me that I am human after all."

"He is a little charmer," Misato agreed.

"So will you girls be trying to help Ranma with this problem?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yes," Rei said softly, nodding before looking at Asuka.

Asuka blushed and looked down before hesitantly nodding.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka wondered just what the hell she was thinking. Sure, Ranma was cute in guy form and all and she thought he was really strong. Look at the way he dealt with the Sub-commander. That took some serious guts.

But cowering in terror because a girl snuggled you? That wasn't very strong at all and it was a serious turn-off for Asuka. She hated weak men that couldn't deal with women...like her father.

Yet, she had agreed to this plan. She had in effect agreed to be Ranma's girlfriend. Not only that, she had agreed to share him with Ayanami. And what about Ranma's girl form, her near identical twin? Could she truly have a relationship with what in effect would be another girl, maybe even two girls counting Ayanami?

Ayanami herself was pretty weird too. The girl came off as cold as ice most times. The only time Asuka had seen any warmth come from her it had been related to Ranma. Thinking about how the little ice maiden had broken down when the Doctor told them what was wrong with Ranma, it was clear that she was completely in love with the boy.

Yet she was willing to share him when Asuka had been disappointed that they were dating. In retrospect, Ranma probably had no idea they had been dating. Still, did Asuka have any right to involve herself with Ayanami's boyfriend, even if Ayanami had offered?

Asuka sighed. For all that she tried to argue herself out of it, there was something about Ranma that drew her in, made her want him, made her feel complete. He intrigued her and fired her imagination. And she couldn't forget how comfortable she was snuggled up to him.

She blushed as she thought of what else she was touching as well. That memory was firing more than her imagination. Oh yes, it would be fun breaking Ranma's conditioning, showering him with affection. After all, she had to, for his own good. He was her friend after all and what kind of friend would she be if she let him down in this? Nope, Asuka decided, she, Asuka Langley Sohryu, was going to snuggle that conditioning right out of Ranma's head. Asuka's face lit up with a slightly perverted grin.

"Perhaps we should go see if Ranma is prepared for today's training," Rei asked.

Asuka looked up and saw Rei was also wearing a slightly lecherous grin.

"Good idea," Asuka nodded. "We do only have six days. Time's awastin'."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji and Kensuke were on their way to Misato's apartment to check on Ranma. They hadn't seen him since they had gotten off the carrier and that had been over a week ago. They had become concerned for their friend after the battle a few days ago when they still hadn't seen him. So they were going to pay him a visit to make sure he was still in one piece.

As they entered the building, they ran into the Class Rep.

"Hey Class Rep, what are you doing here?" Toji asked.

"I'm here to drop off Asuka and Ranma's class work," Hikari said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We haven't seen Ranma since the trip to the carrier," Toji answered. "We were gonna drop by and make sure the Red Demon didn't feast on his liver or something."

"Toji! Asuka isn't that bad," Hikari protested in exasperation.

"I never said it was Asuka I was talking about," Toji smirked. "You figured that out all by yourself."

Hikari developed an eye-twitch as the three boarded the elevator. It was still twitching when the pushed the door chime for Misato's apartment.

"Cooooming," an odd sounding voice said over the intercom.

After a minute the door opened, causing Toji and Kensuke to recoil in shock. Hikari blinked. In the door way stood two nearly identical pigtailed redheads. They were both wearing a pair of black spandex shorts, a leotard, one blue the other red, and a loose half top, blue and red respectively.

"Helloooo," the pair eerily sang in sync with each other.

"GAH!" Toji cried, tears pouring down his cheeks. "It's worse than I thought! She's begun to assimilate him! He's turning into her minion!"

"W-what's going on?" Hikari asked.

"It was Misato's idea," the pair explained in exact sync, creeping the other three out. "We have to do everything together; eat together, train together, sleep together."

"GAH!" Hikari said, recoiling herself. "T-that's not proper!"

"Why not?" Misato asked, walking up. "Ranma sleeps in girl form and it's just sleeping. It's all part of the training."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?" Hikari asked.

Everyone entered the condo. Entering the family room, the trio of non-residents saw a strange sight. Rei was seated at the table with Pen Pen standing in front of her on top of the book she had evidently been trying to read. They were locked in a staring match.

"Do I even wanna know?" Kensuke asked with a huge sweat-drop.

"They've been at that since breakfast," the redheads said in unison.

"Who's winning?" Toji asked out of morbid fascination.

At that point Pen Pen squawked indignantly and stalked off down the hallway. The blue haired girl calmly resumed reading her book.

"Rei just won the fifth straight rematch," the redheads chirped. "He'll be back though."

"Could you guys like stop that?" Toji asked. "It's really creepy."

The redheads looked at each other and shrugged in sync before giggling and creeping everyone out.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji, Kensuke, Rei, Misato, and Hikari sat around the table. Everyone but Hikari was watching the redheads practice to The Ride of the Valkyries, Ranma's personal modification to the plan. Hikari had gotten drawn into a staring contest with the penguin who figured he would get in some confidence training with an easier target before his rematch with Rei.

While it was hard to tell which redhead was which at a first or even second glance, it readily became apparent when they began the exercise. Ranma, in the blue leotard, had the routine down pat, moving through it like a kata she had been practicing for years. Asuka, in the red leotard, was having problems keeping time as the glowing circles on the mat below them lit up.

"ARRRGH!" Asuka finally screamed in frustration and threw her headphones against the wall. "This is impossible."

"It's not impossible, Asuka-chan," Ranma said gently. She stepped up behind the other redhead and began massaging the tension out of her neck and shoulders. Asuka melted under Ranma's ministrations. "You just need to relax and don't get so frustrated."

"Mmmm," Asuka moaned as Ranma worked the knots out of her neck muscles. "Easy for you to say, Little Miss I-get-every-thing-perfect-on-the-first-try."

"Heh," Ranma smirked, but admitted, "not always. Sometimes it takes me a while, but the thing is; I never give up. If you give up and say it's impossible then it will be. Now come on. Let's try it again. When we get it right I'll take you and Rei out for some ice cream. How's that sound?"

"Variable-chan, you really know how to motivate a girl, dontcha?" Asuka smirked, using her pet name for Ranma.

"Heh, I wonder why? Go figure," Ranma snorted.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Two hours later, Asuka was going through the routine without missing a beat when Ranma called a break.

"Heh, well I think we're gonna be ready," Ranma grinned proudly. "How about the Evas, Misato? Are they gonna be ready by the time D-day gets here?"

"Not a problem," Misato chirped. "The Evas have been ready for two days now."

Ranma froze, her grin fading as her left eye began to twitch. Slowly, with great care, she walked up to Misato and placed her hands on the woman's shoulders.

"So you're telling me that the Evas have been operational for two whole days now?" Ranma asked.

"That's what I said," Misato nodded, Ranma's behavior confusing her.

"THEN WHY THE HELL HAVEN'T WE GONE OUT THERE AND KILLED THE GODDAM ANGEL WHILE IT'S NOT MOVING AND VULNERABLE?" Ranma screamed, a cross shaped vein appearing on her temple as the force of her shout blew Misato's hair straight back from her head.

Misato blinked. Everyone else at the table blinked. It was so ridiculously obvious. Hikari got it. Kensuke could see it. Toji figured even his sister could have seen something that obvious. Even Pen Pen was looking at Misato incredulously.

"WHHHAAA!" Misato wailed. "It was all Kaji's plan! Yell at him not meeee!"

"I suggest you get on the phone to NERV and tell them to get Unit's 01 and 02 ready to go out," Ranma growled. "Asuka and I are going out and dealing with this thing before it finishes regenerating itself and gets back up to full power."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Rei? May I have a word with you?" Ritsuko asked the blue-haired girl as Ranma and Asuka got suited up to take the Evas out.

"Yes, Ma'am," Rei said dispassionately.

Ritsuko led them to her office.

"Please sit," Ritsuko directed as she sat behind her desk. She waited for Rei to sit and began. "So how are things with Ranma?"

"Ranma has shown satisfactory progress under our deprogramming efforts," Rei reported. "I am hopeful that he will soon no longer fear intimacy."

"Excellent," Ritsuko nodded. "However, there is one word of caution I need to impress on you. It would perhaps be best if the Commander was kept unaware of your developing relationship with his son. If he finds out just how much you care for Ranma, he may take steps to break you two apart."

"I see," Rei said tonelessly. "Why would the Commander do such a thing?"

"Because he's an unhappy man, Rei," Ritsuko sighed. "And he resents it when people around him find happiness, particularly Ranma and yourself. He sees it as a threat to his control over you."

"I see," Rei said, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Then he must not find out about the status of the relationship between Ranma and myself."

"Exactly," Ritsuko nodded.

"Very well, thank you for your assistance, Dr. Akagi," Rei said.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"If these are the kind of goddamn geniuses that are supposed to save the planet, we're doomed," Ranma griped over the comm as she and Asuka walked through the city, naginata in hand to destroy the angel.

The techs in the control center developed a huge sweat-drop.

"No kidding," Asuka said. "I guess it's up to us to do the fighting _and_ the thinking."

"I suppose this is what happens when you put a bunch of engineers and scientists in charge of a battle," Ranma grumbled.

Fuyutsuki's eye began to twitch as Misato slapped her hand over her face in exasperation. Kaji stood beside Misato twiddling his thumbs and whistling innocently as if he had nothing to do with the plan the children were currently deriding.

"Yup, you wave goodbye to elegant simplicity and get something stupidly complex with more features than you'll ever need to use," Asuka agreed as they arrived at the inert angel's location.

They each moved to one side of the angel and lined their progressive naginata up on the twin cores.

"On one," Ranma announced. "Three, two, one..."

They plunged their naginata into the cores in perfect sync and the angel exploded in a massive blast. Two Eva's, one crimson with orange trim and one midnight-blue with bright green trim came striding out of the smoke and dust side by side, naginata resting on their shoulders.

"And that, people, is how it should be done," Asuka declared. "Simple and elegant."

"Morons," Ranma said again, as Unit 01 shook its head as if in disgust.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Did you guys have to dress alike again?" Toji whined as the six teens walked down the street. Ranma still owed Asuka some ice cream for getting the exercise right, so they were headed to the ice cream shop to celebrate the successful destruction of the angel.

The redheads turned their head in unison to Toji wearing identical smirks.

"Of course," they said in weird stereo. "It's fun!"

Giggling, they turned back and walked on with a thoroughly creeped-out Toji, Hikari, and Kensuke trailing along behind them. After a few steps however, Ranma stiffened when both Rei and Asuka each grabbed one of her hands. Looking at the encouraging smiles each girl was giving her, she forced herself to relax and put a strained smile on her own face.

"So Rei, are you gonna try the technique I taught ya today?" Ranma asked the blue-haired girl.

"I do not know," Rei said, looking down shyly as a cute blush stained her cheeks pink.

"What technique?" Asuka asked, curious.

"The Anything Goes Uber-Cute Ice Cream Scamming Attack," Ranma said officiously, causing Asuka to giggle.

"Do tell," Asuka grinned.

"It's a most fearsome technique," Ranma said in a reverent tone. "Its true horror is shrouded in mystery. Known only to a select few, it is feared by all food merchants who suddenly find their profit margin slashed after such an attack being made on them. You appear to be someone who could utilize this attack with as devastating an effect as myself. Would you like to learn this awesomely powerful technique, Student?"

By now Asuka was giggling uncontrollably at the silly, officious tone Ranma was using as if she were about to pass on the secret to life, the universe, and everything.

"Oh please, oh learned one, do not allow me to languish in ignorance. Bestow upon me your great wisdom," Asuka gasped back through her giggles.

Ranma snorted in laughter at Asuka's unwitting, but nevertheless, near perfect Kuno impression. She then proceeded to demonstrate the technique for the other redhead, who now had tears rolling down her cheeks from laughing so hard.

"So, let me get this straight," Asuka chortled. "The secret of this great all powerful technique is to flirt shamelessly with the counter attendant in hopes that he'll give you extra treats?"

"Harrumph," Ranma harrumphed imperiously. "Obviously you don't understand the finer points of this technique."

"I would say that Pilot Sohryu has a firm grasp of the theory behind the technique," Rei commented.

"Etu, Brute?" Ranma asked shooting Rei a look of mock-betrayal.

"Might I presume to improve upon the technique, Sensei Variable-chan?" Asuka snickered.

"I'm all ears," Ranma said.

"I suggest we use the technique in tandem," Asuka suggested with a large grin. "Using the fearsome twin factor, the effects should be magnified exponentially."

"Ooo, very dangerous," Ranma cooed. "Do you suppose it might be too much for the poor counter attendant?"

"Never know 'til we try, Variable-chan," Asuka smirked.

"Then by all means, let's," Ranma smirked back with a matching smirk. "We'll try it in the name of the advancement of the art!"

The redheads began to cackle maniacally, while the trailing trio developed huge sweat-drops and began to wonder if all Eva pilots were insane. Needless to say, it was not a good day to be in the ice cream business. The following day, the beleaguered owner of the shop began advertising for a gay counter boy in an effort to combat this dreaded threat to his profit margin.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma lay on his futon, stiff as a board. Misato was working late to take care of the paperwork from the battle and wasn't planning on coming home that night. Thus, the girls had insisted on him being in male form. On his right shoulder lay a head of blue hair, on his left a head of red hair. Both girls were snuggled tightly against him and Ranma was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Currently he was having an inner debate with himself. Though they had gone to sleep on their separate futons, Ranma had woken up sandwiched between the two girls every morning. While the aftermath was always stressful for him, he had to admit that he felt really nice until his conditioning kicked in, telling him to freak out. It had been the third morning before he began to believe they weren't planning on smashing his head open and painting abstract art on the walls with his brains.

Still, while he had made progress, he was nevertheless on the verge of panicking when he awoke to the girls cuddling him. Tonight they had decided to up the ante by going to sleep snuggling him. Ranma had to admit it was nice. He could smell the wonderful scent of their shampoo, and their soft, warm curves pressed against him made him feel incredibly tender towards them. But in the back of his mind, he still expected an uncute, man-hating, violent lunatic, wielding a mallet, to come bursting in to kill him for daring to feel pleasure in receiving female affection.

It would be a long time before he would relax enough to drift off to sleep.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"AN UNCUTE, MAN-HATING, VIOLENT, LUNATIC, AM I?" Akane shrieked, actually frothing at the mouth. "JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU PERVERTED FREAK! HOW DARE YOU SAY I'M VIOLENT!"

It actually took both Shampoo and Ukyo to hold Akane back from smashing the TV long enough for Cologne to render her unconscious via a pressure point.

"WHAAAAA," Soun wept. "My baby girl has been pushed over the edge and is now a raving lunatic!"

"There, there, Tendo," Genma attempted to comfort his friend before Soun triggered his curse, which wouldn't be comfortable with casts on his limbs. "The foolish, dishonorable boy doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh, no, Uncle Saotome," Kasumi protested pleasantly. "Akane is a violent maniac. I told Ranma that on the first day he was here."

Nodoka was torn. On the one hand, she was filled with a desire to whip out her victory fans and do her happy dance because her son was sleeping with two girls. On the other hand, she wanted to visit extreme amounts of violence on her husband for forcing Ranma into such an abusive relationship with a girl who was obviously undeserving of her manly son. Why couldn't any of the girls present be more like those on the TV, willing to share her son since he was obviously far too manly for just one woman.

One thing that she found particularly disturbing was Ranma's evident acceptance of his female form. He seemed to genuinely have fun as a girl with the other girls. That didn't seem very manly; especially the way he was spending a lot of time going around in female form and dressing like a girl. She would have to think on this.

"We're losing him, Sugar," Ukyo said to Shampoo somberly.

Shampoo just nodded glumly.

"You brainiacs don't get it do you?" Nabiki snapped in exasperation. "He was never yours to lose. You two and my little sister drove him away before he could ever develop any feelings for any of you beyond annoyance. Have you not been watching? Look at him. Aside from that little blip that you guys caused with him fearing intimacy, I've never seen him as happy as he is there. Kami-sama, he's happier in a world where he's fighting for his life than he was here."

"Hey, you had a hand in making his life miserable too, Sugar," Ukyo challenged.

"Yes, I did," Nabiki agreed. "And I'm now seeing things a little differently. I won't begrudge him what happiness he can get in that world. He deserves it."

In truth, Nabiki was seeing a side to Ranma that she never suspected to exist. He was using his head, proving he wasn't just the stupid jock everyone thought he was. Granted, he wasn't brilliant by any stretch, but the fact that he was thinking and planning instead of just reacting shocked Nabiki to no end.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	10. Chapter 10

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 10**

Akane awoke to find herself gagged and bound tightly, leaning against the wall next to her father and Mr. Saotome. Angry, she began to struggle against her bonds, but they proved too much for even her rage-fueled strength. Her anger, having failed her, slowly faded to be replaced by something else...grief.

Tears began to spill down her cheeks as it hit home what she had become. She was an abuser, far worse than a pervert, and she had abused the boy she had come to love because she couldn't see past her anger and jealousy. It surprised her that she could admit she loved Ranma so easily, even if only to herself.

Akane didn't know if Ranma would be coming back or not after this was over. If he did, the girls pursuing him would have to change if they wanted him. He was learning what it was like to be in a relationship based on affection and fun as opposed to violence and the dictates of honor. If any of them were to find happiness with him now, they would have to meet this new standard, assuming they could.

Cologne observed the girls sadly. They were all learning harsh truths. Shampoo had been subdued ever since she heard Ranma imply that he'd rather forget her. The Kuonji girl was learning of her failings concerning the pigtailed martial artist as well. The youngest Tendo girl looked as though even she had begun to realize her own faults. Even the mercenary appeared to be considering that maybe she didn't quite know Ranma as well as she thought, and perhaps she had been too hasty to dismiss him.

Nodoka pondered what she had seen thus far. It disturbed her how much at ease her son was in his female form. Worse yet was how she saw him quivering in terror when those girls had snuggled up to him. How could he be manly if he reacted like that when a girl was affectionate with him? How could he be manly at all when he obviously enjoyed being a girl so much? The only comfort Nodoka could find in the situation was that he did at least appear to be interested in girls, even if he was terrified of them.

Glancing down at the family honor blade beside her, she thought about the contract. While it grieved her to think it, perhaps it would be better if he did not return. Then she would be spared having to judge her son as lacking and enforce the terms of the contract.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Asuka, I'm telling you, this is a waste of time," Ranma tried again as she and Rei were dragged into yet another store in search of the perfect bikini. "They ain't gonna let us go on that class trip to Okinawa. Think about it. What if an angel attacks while we're gone? Who's gonna be here to fight it?"

"Of course they're going to let us go, Variable-chan," Asuka sang. "We deserve a vacation and the class trip is a very important part of a Japanese school culture. Now how does this look?"

Ranma sighed as Asuka held up a tiny swatch of spandex/lycra against herself.

"Why not just go naked?" Ranma asked. "It'd be cheaper and you'd still have almost as much covered. Right, Rei?"

"Your idea does have merit. Perhaps, I, too, shall do as you suggest," Rei said, flashing a brief, but mischievous grin.

Asuka snickered at the gaping look on Ranma's face as the girl sputtered.

"Oh don't be such a prude, Ranma," Asuka chirped.

"Well, that's different anyway," Ranma shrugged. "Going from being called a pervert to being a prude."

"Here, go try this one on," Asuka said, handing Ranma another bikini.

While this one at least wasn't a thong and had a lot more material than the last one Asuka had held up, the color was a big problem for Ranma.

"No way," Ranma shook her head vigorously, her pigtail flying. "Not a chance. I don't do pink. It might look good on Rei though."

"Very well, I shall try it," Rei said, plucking the suit out of Asuka's hand and heading for the dressing room.

Asuka shrugged and went back to looking through the racks. Ranma just stood there rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Don't just stand there, Variable-chan," Asuka said a little crossly. "You can look too, ya know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma snorted, but began looking through the racks herself.

Rei came out of the dressing room in the bikini that Asuka had picked out and walked up to them, presenting herself for judgment. Asuka made her turn around a few times and looked at the blue-haired girl appraisingly.

"The cut is great," Asuka concluded, "but the color is all wrong for you, Rei. You're so pale and this color makes you look washed out. We can do better." Rei nodded and headed back to the dressing room as Asuka turned to Ranma. "Let's see what you picked out, Variable-chan."

Ranma presented her selections.

"Gah! Geez, Ranma, a nun would be embarrassed to wear something that prudish and dowdy," Asuka said, rejecting Ranma's first three choices. "The other two aren't bad, but your hips beg to be displayed. So not boy-bottoms for you!" thus rejecting Ranma's remaining selections and sending her back to the racks grumbling.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

An hour later, the trio had found suits that met with Asuka's approval. Rei had ended up with a royal blue tankini that flattered her slender torso. Ranma had been talked into an emerald green bikini with high-cut bottoms and an under-wire top, which in her opinion displayed entirely too much cleavage. Asuka had chosen one with white, high-cut bottoms and a red and white striped racer-back, halter-style top.

Currently, they were at the 'reward' portion of this outing; the ice cream shop. Not that Ranma was happy about it. It seemed that the owner had come up with a counter to the dreaded Anything Goes Uber-Cute Ice Cream Scamming Technique and not even the devastating Revised Twin Attack had worked for them today.

Ranma looked morosely at her piteously small and plain banana split and lamented about the injustice of it all. Here she was, having been subjected to a day of shopping and being made to model twenty different skimpy outfits only to find that the new counter boy with the strange lisp seemed impervious to their collective feminine charms. She pouted cutely at how wrong this all was. What good was being a cute girl if you couldn't scam extra treats?

"Oh cheer up, Variable-chan," Asuka said cheerfully. "If you're gonna pout like that, I'll buy you another one."

"You really mean it, Asuka-chan?" Ranma asked in a saccharin tone, instantly brightening and looking up at Asuka with big, sparkling eyes.

"Gah!" Asuka recoiled from the sheer cuteness being directed at her, while Rei snickered softly. "Uh...yeah, just stop with the cuteness before I go into insulin shock," Asuka whined.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

A bead of sweat appeared on Pen Pen's head as he was once again determined to strip Rei of her title as undisputed staring champion of the household. His training and concentration proved fruitless, however, when a nearby scream of outrage caused the hard-pressed bird to blink and lose the match yet again.

"What do you mean we can't go?" Asuka wailed. "I've been looking forward to going diving again for so long now! You can't do this! It's not fair!"

"I'm sorry, Asuka, but that's just the way it is," Misato said in a reasonable tone. "Your job is too important for any of you to be allowed to go on a trip that far away."

"So we're on permanent stand-by?" Asuka demanded loudly. "Who's the dummkopf that decided that?"

"That would be me, the Operations Planning Officer," Misato said smugly.

"Ranma," Asuka pleaded, "tell her how messed up this is. Do something!"

"Sorry, Asuka, I tried to warn you that this was going to happen," Ranma shook his head.

"Yeah, but you like to tell the chain of command where to stick it when you don't like their ideas. So tell her," Asuka persisted.

"I only do that when I think they're being morons," Ranma said. "This time I think Misato's right." Misato shot Asuka a smug look. "I know it doesn't happen often, and after that crap with the last angel, I'm beginning to wonder if any of them know what the hell they're doing." Misato's eye developed a twitch. "This time I think they're right."

"What? You're taking her side?" Asuka shrieked. "How could you?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, Asuka-chan," Ranma explained placatingly. "I'm just saying, we can't fight angels if we're in Okinawa. If we don't fight, then everyone dies."

"So they all get to have fun while we're stuck here waiting for an attack?" Asuka demanded. "Well, that sucks. It's not fair."

"Trust me on this, life is rarely fair," Ranma said sagely. "This is the price you're paying for having the glory of defending the world. Besides, since we won't have to go to school, think of all the training we can get done!"

Even Rei sweat-dropped, seeing the maniacal gleam in Ranma's eyes at the prospect of two weeks of training. He had been training Rei in the mornings and evenings for a while now and Asuka had joined them after they killed the last angel. Rei had proven herself slightly more advanced than Asuka thanks to Ranma's training and she had a lot better pain-tolerance. However, Asuka was a lot more creative and less predictable than Rei so it was often a toss up in their spars as to who came out on top.

"You can also use the time to catch up on your schoolwork and pull your grades up," Misato interjected. "Don't think I haven't seen your report cards. As your guardian, I get your grades sent directly to my terminal and I am very disappointed with all of you..."

"Stuff it, Misato," Ranma interrupted. "If you really want to talk about poor performance, we can discuss the last angel some more. I think that has a little more impact on the survival of the human race than whether we get good grades in school."

Misato gaped at Ranma, sputtering.

"Ranma's right," Asuka agreed. "It's not like I should even have to worry about going to school."

"Ranma..." Misato growled. "What about our agreement? You said if I respected your abilities that you would respect my authority."

"What's that got to do with this?" Ranma asked.

"I'm exercising my authority to insist that you pull your grades up," Misato informed him.

Ranma blinked. Technically, she had him there. When that agreement was made, Ranma had just been thinking of it as applying to his job as an Eva pilot. He hadn't considered it could apply outside of that.

"Okay, Misato, but on one condition," Ranma stipulated.

"What's your condition?" Misato asked. She didn't like the way Ranma grinned evilly.

"You're going to be training with us, at least three hours a day," the pigtailed pilot smirked. "It doesn't have to be all at once. We can break it down to an hour and a half in the morning and another hour and a half in the evening. It'll be good for you and you'll lose that beer gut you've got going on there."

"WHAT?" Misato squawked indignantly. "Ranma! You can be a real JERK sometimes, you know that?"

"Well, it must run in the family," Ranma chuckled. "The world's biggest jerk is my father, after all."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka stood on the NERV gym mat in her typical aggressive stance, legs apart, hands on her hips, and a challenging look on her face as Misato flounced out of the locker room looking vaguely disgruntled. Ranma and Rei knelt in seiza position off to the side of the mat.

The German redhead, dressed in the workout outfit she had adopted since she began to train with Ranma, a pair of black and red spandex shorts and a black sports bra over which she wore a red t-shirt, knotted just below her breasts, looked over the older woman appraisingly. The leggy, purple-haired woman was wearing a pair of black, silk running shorts over a pair of purple spandex shorts. On top she was wearing a black sports bra under a loose midriff-baring cut off t-shirt. Her hair was gathered in a high ponytail while Asuka had taken a cue from Ranma and was wearing hers in a braid.

"It's about time, Misato," the redhead said as the woman stepped on the mat. "Variable-chan has asked me to 'evaluate' you." The evil glint in Asuka's eye suggested to Misato that this wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Her next words confirmed it. "I do have some frustrations to work off since I didn't get to go relax in Okinawa. Go ahead and get stretched out. Let me know when you're ready."

Misato wasn't intimidated. If it was Ranma, that would have been different, but this was Asuka. How much could the pigtailed martial artist have taught her in the few weeks they had been training? The older woman was certain she would come out on top. It wasn't like she was untrained or anything. However, a glance at the smirking Ranma, as she stretched, didn't do much for her confidence.

After Misato stretched out, she turned to face Asuka who was looking at her with a credible version of Ranma's cocky, amused smirk.

"I'm ready," Misato grunted.

"Okay, this is just a sparring match to see where Misato is," Ranma spoke. "No crippling or lethal blows permitted. You will both stop immediately if I call for it. Other than that, anything goes. Understood?"

"Sure thing, Variable-chan," Asuka chirped.

"Right," Misato agreed.

"Begin," Ranma called.

The echo from Ranma's voice hadn't even faded before Misato found herself on the defensive. Asuka was on her immediately, probing her defenses with punches and kicks. The older woman grunted in pain as Asuka landed an only partially blocked spinning back kick to her ribs. Moments later, Misato found herself face down on the mat, her arm stretched out behind her in a painful joint lock as Asuka's knee rested on her spine.

"Geez, Misato," Ranma commented as Asuka released her. "I thought you'd do a lot better than that. Asuka took you down in what? Less than 30 seconds? That's pretty pathetic for someone who fancies herself a soldier."

"I underestimated her," Misato growled getting to her feet. "It won't happen again."

"Pretty confident, ain'tcha," Asuka smirked. "We'll just see what you have to say the next time you're picking yourself up off the mat."

"Begin," Ranma announced.

Misato managed to last much longer that time, but inevitably, she still went down. By the time Ranma called a halt twenty minutes later, Misato felt like a punching bag. She was sweating heavily and gasping for breath. Her legs, arms, and torso would be sporting some impressive bruising by tomorrow. Her lip was split and a thin trail of blood dripped down her chin from where Asuka punched her in the mouth. Misato was just thankful she managed to raise her head so that it wasn't her nose that got hit.

Not that Asuka had gotten off untouched. The redhead would also be sporting her share of bruises and Misato had managed to put her down a couple of times. In contrast, though, Asuka was lightly coated with sweat and barely panting from the exertion. She was also smiling, unlike Misato.

"You're right, Variable-chan," Asuka chirped happily. "I do feel better now that I've beat on the person that ruined my diving plans."

"Good, I'm glad," Ranma said giving her a warm smile before turning to Misato, who was now bent over with her hands on her knees panting heavily. "As for you, Misato, not bad for a juicer with only basic training and whose idea of strenuous exercise is wandering around NERV trying to figure out where she is." Misato would have growled at him if she had the breath to spare. "Anyway, at least we've got something to work with. We should have that body of yours toned and taut and your skill level up there in no time."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I don't think Misato likes you very much after today, Variable-chan," Asuka giggled as she, Ranma, and Rei relaxed in the NERV Jacuzzi.

"Hey, you're the one that beat her up," Ranma grinned.

"Yeah, but then you worked her like a dog doing kata afterward," Asuka pointed out. "She looked like she wanted to crawl off and die."

"She'll thank me for it in a few weeks when she notices how much better she looks and feels," Ranma chuckled.

"I know I do," Asuka smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ranma asked, surprised.

Asuka didn't say anything as she crawled into Ranma's lap and leaned back against his chest. Pulling his arms around her waist, she sighed happily as she relaxed, letting her head rest on his shoulder nuzzling his.

"Just relax, Handsome," Asuka said softly. "Just doing a little more deprogramming."

Rei looked at Asuka relaxing in Ranma's arms and felt envious, but she knew that it wasn't possible for her to share in the closeness at the moment. Her time would come later after they were out of sight of NERV. She was surprised when she felt a hand take hers and pull it over to rest on Asuka's tummy under cover of the water. Ranma smiled at her reassuringly and suddenly Rei felt much more at ease as the trio continued to soak quietly in the hot tub, enjoying each other's company.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato groaned as she sank painfully into the chair in front of Ritsuko's desk. Ritsuko's eyes widened as she saw Misato's swollen lip and the bruise developing on her mouth.

"What the hell happened to you?" Ritsuko asked in surprise.

"Damn kids," Misato growled, causing Ritsuko's eyebrow to raise as she leaned forward, eager to hear this story. "You sure you don't wanna take over as their guardian?"

"Not on your life," Ritsuko giggled. "What happened?"

"I had to agree to let Ranma train me to get him to pull his grades up," Misato sighed. "Asuka wasn't very happy when I told her that she couldn't go to Okinawa with their class. Ranma had her 'spar' with me to 'evaluate' my skill level."

"In other words, he let her beat you like a drum until she felt better, huh?" Ritsuko smirked.

Misato sneered sarcastically at her.

"Yeah, it was real funny," Misato groaned. "Now shut up and give me some of the good stuff." Ritsuko opened her desk drawer and extracted a bottle of painkillers, tossing them to Misato. Misato extracted two and swallowed them before tossing the bottle back. "And then the sadistic little bastard made me do kata for another hour before he dismissed me."

"Now that's funny," Ritsuko said with a laugh. "Besides, it's good for you. You're not getting any younger and that bar-hopping lifestyle you lead will catch up to you if you don't start working out."

"Gee thanks," Misato snorted sarcastically. "I knew I could count on my best friend for support."

"Now you know what the Commander feels like when Ranma is upset," Ritsuko pointed out.

"I'd just as soon not," Misato returned. "The worst part is, I have to go back for another hour and a half session this afternoon."

"Aw, you poor thing," Ritsuko said insincerely. "You know, you could always admit defeat and let Ranma worry about his grades himself."

"Never!" Misato said resolutely. "I'll show that little jerk he can't get the best of Misato Katsuragi! I'll take his training and I'll beat his redheaded little girlfriend down and see how he likes that!"

"You realize you're talking about beating up a 14 year old girl, right?" Ritsuko asked with a large sweat-drop on her head.

"Better yet, let's see how she likes it when I take her boyfriend away from her for a nice rubdown tonight," Misato cackled evilly.

"Oh, good thinking," Ritsuko drawled. "Then you can have both Asuka _and_ Rei wanting to 'evaluate' you."

"Bring'em on!" Misato crowed. "I'll whip their skanky little asses and take their man from them!"

Ritsuko looked at the bottle of painkillers dubiously. Perhaps she shouldn't have given Misato something that strong. She was on duty after all.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Arrrgh!" Ranma snarled as she sat by the pool in her new bikini doing her physics problems on her laptop. She longed to throw the infernal device into the pool and be done with it.

"What's wrong, Variable-chan?" Asuka asked coming up behind Ranma and putting her arms around the other girl's shoulders.

"Stupid physics," Ranma pouted.

"Oh, is that all?" Asuka asked, her hand reaching out and tapping some keys on Ranma's computer. "There, see? That was easy."

"Maybe for you," Ranma said. "I ain't had that much schooling. The guy Pop left me with said it was a distraction from the art and only let me go when the local authorities made him. If it's so easy, how come your grades are so bad?"

"Because I have a hard time figuring out what the questions are asking," Asuka sighed. "I'm not that good at reading the Kanji."

"Okay, that makes sense," Ranma nodded. "It's not like you need to go to school here anyway. I know you were in college in Germany."

"Yeah, I graduated last year with my Bachelor's Degree in Science," Asuka said proudly.

"Wow, you're pretty smart," Ranma smiled.

"Of course," Asuka agreed. "So are you."

"What? Me? Nah, I ain't all that smart," Ranma disagreed.

"Sure you are, Variable-chan," Asuka ruffled Ranma's hair. "Uneducated doesn't equal stupid. I've seen you come up with some really brilliant solutions to a lot of problems we've had."

"I dunno," Ranma said doubtfully. "I mean most of the things I came up with the solutions for were pretty obvious."

"That's why with all the brain power they have here they came up with it before you did, right?" Asuka smirked.

"I guess," Ranma agreed reluctantly.

"Enough studying for now," Asuka grinned wickedly. "I wanna play."

With that she grabbed Ranma and tossed her into the pool.

Rei sighed sadly as she watched the redheads chase each other around the pool, giggling and shrieking as they splashed and dunked each other. She really wanted to participate too, but the security tapes would most likely be seen by the Commander. She would then have to explain her change in behavior, which could lead to her and Ranma being separated. That could not be allowed to happen.

Rei's introspection was interrupted by the appearance of two redheads surfacing from the water in front of her.

"What's wrong, Rei?" Ranma asked. "You look sad."

"Do you wanna come play with us?" Asuka asked.

"I cannot," Rei said sadly. "If I were to do so, Commander Ikari would not approve and take steps to come between us."

"Aw, geez, I'm sorry, Rei," Ranma said. "I didn't think about that. How about we get out of here where we can all have fun together?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Asuka said giving Rei a smile. "Then you guys can explain to me what you're talking about."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Four hours later, the trio was back at NERV. They had been at home, enjoying a group snuggle, Rei taking her turn being held on Ranma's lap as she told the other two about how she had been raised by Gendo, when their phones rang to call them in. If anything, Rei's life was as bad as Ranma's, the only real difference being that the focus was on psychological abuse and conditioning rather than physical as it had been with Ranma.

Asuka had looked positively green as she heard about some of the consequences Rei had faced if she had displayed any emotion or behavior other than calm obedience. Ranma was faced with a pretty eye-opening realization. Suddenly, he knew how others viewed Genma when they were told about the things Genma had done to him. He had never understood why they were so angry, sometimes even sick, when they heard. Now he knew because, for the first time, Ranma truly wanted to kill a person and take pleasure in it as he ripped them apart bit by bit.

Instead, he just held Rei close as she told her disturbing tale while Asuka snuggled up to his side and held Rei's hands supportively. After Rei finished, Asuka decided that she would tell them her story, the close supportive environment they had achieved having allowed her to drop walls to some extent. Ranma had put his arm around Asuka's shoulder, still holding Rei in his lap, as Asuka told them about the father that abandoned her and her mother and how her mother had slowly gone insane before being locked in an institution with a doll that she talked to as if it were Asuka. Finally, Asuka told them about entering the room to see her mother had hung herself.

Though her eyes were brimming, Asuka didn't cry. She hadn't quite let her walls down that far, but one day maybe she would. Then it was Ranma's turn to tell his story while in the comforting embrace of the two girls. When it was over, they each realized that none of them had had it any better than the others and in the end the three of them just sat quietly, enjoying the closeness and the fact that they had each other and didn't have to be alone anymore.

It didn't really matter that each of them had held something back that they weren't ready to share with the others. For Rei, it was her true nature; for Asuka it had been the true depth of her pain; for Ranma it was his true origins, the fact that he was not of this world. For now, it was enough to know that they could each relate to the others, knowing that each shared the burden of a troubled, unpleasant past.

So it was three subdued teens who stood before Dr. Ritsuko Akagi as she briefed them on the situation. While she filled them in on what was going on and the plans to deal with it, Ritsuko picked up on the somber air around the trio. The blonde scientist wondered what could have happened to sap the vitality that seemed to radiate from Asuka and Ranma.

"So do you all understand the plan?" Ritsuko asked and received three nods. "Good, Asuka, you will be the one going in. Ranma, you will be on the top as her backup."

"What are my orders?" Rei asked when they weren't forthcoming.

"Rei, you will stay here just in case," Ritsuko informed her.

"I understand," Rei said, her shoulders slumping a little as she looked down at the floor.

Her reaction wasn't lost on Ranma. As Ritsuko led Asuka off to fit her with her heat resistant plug suit, Ranma pulled Rei aside.

"What's wrong, Rei?" Ranma asked.

"It is nothing," Rei replied dispassionately as always.

"Is it because you're not going with us?" Ranma persisted. "You're feeling left out?"

"I-I do not like being left behind," Rei said hesitantly. "I wish to be there with you and Asuka. I am being foolish."

"No, you're not, Rei," Ranma disagreed. "I know if it was you and Asuka going, I'd want to be there with ya. It's because you care. Nothin' wrong with that and it ain't foolish. I promise, as soon as this is done, I'll come right back."

"That will be acceptable," Rei nodded as they headed off to the locker rooms.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I'm not going out there like this!" Asuka wailed. "This is embarrassing!"

"The suit will compress once the entry plug is pressurized," Ritsuko said tiredly. "Now let's go. We don't have much time."

"But I just can't go out there!" Asuka mewled. "I can't let him see me like this! I look like a big, red beach ball!"

"Let who see you like this?" Ritsuko asked in a teasing tone causing Asuka to blush as red as her suit when she realized what she had said. "Wait right here. I'll be right back."

Ritsuko walked out of the room and quickly spotted Ranma in his plug suit waiting nearby. She marched up to him and grabbed his hand before dragging the confused pilot back the way she had come, into the girls' locker room.

"There," Ritsuko said, grinning in triumph. "Now he's seen you so you don't have anything to worry about."

"WAH? Don't look at me!" Asuka wailed as she caught sight of a wide-eyed Ranma being dragged by Ritsuko.

"Why not?" Ranma asked.

"Because I look so stupid," Asuka whined.

"Heh," Ranma smirked as he crossed his arms and leaned against a locker. "Now you know how I feel when you drag me around in my girl form making me try on all those clothes."

"But that's different!" Asuka protested. "You looked good. I just look like a fool."

Ranma frowned then had a moment of inspiration. He had learned a few things about dealing with girls since he had arrived here and he had gotten much better at keeping his foot out of his mouth.

"Asuka-chan," Ranma said soothingly. "It doesn't matter if that suit makes you look like a big red balloon. I know you're still the same cute girl inside it."

Well, he hadn't mastered the art of keeping his foot out of his mouth quite yet, but he was doing much better. Asuka's look darkened as she heard the first part of what he said, but unlike the girls from back home, she hadn't stopped listening at the first sign of something she didn't like. Her face softened and her cheeks bloomed a light pink as the second part penetrated.

"You really mean it?" Asuka asked. "You really think I'm cute?"

"I...uh..." Ranma stammered softly, feeling his face heat up with his own blush and feeling really nervous all of a sudden. "Yeah, beyond cute even. Beautiful."

"Oh Ranma!" Asuka said happily. "Okay, I can do this. No problem."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Oh my, that was so beautiful," Kasumi said, dabbing a tear from her eye as Nabiki rewound the tape.

"Who would have thought Ranma had it in him?" Nabiki smirked.

"Ran-chan always was a soft touch for a girl in distress," Ukyo pointed out somberly, remembering when he had told her that she was the cute fiancée.

She had been crying and depressed at the time and she had grabbed on to his words like a lifeline. It was a bitter realization that they hadn't sounded nearly as sincere as the words he just said to the redhead. How had she gone so wrong with Ranma? In just a few short months, those two girls had gotten closer to and received more affection from Ranma than all the rest of them had in a year.

She knew the answer. Their love didn't hurt him. They didn't ask him to choose. They didn't throw honor in his face to try and manipulate him. They didn't compete over him and they never selfishly demanded his attention. Instead, those girls seemed content to share him, even supporting each other at times in being with him.

As much as Ukyo hated them for taking the man she loved, she found she couldn't begrudge them. She had heard their stories and they deserved what happiness they could find. Maybe if Ranma came back, she could take a lesson from them on how to earn his affection.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	11. Chapter 11

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 11**

It was a subdued group that gathered at the Tendo home the following day. The Amazon's had arrived, sans Mousse; because they'd had to subdue him due to his anger that Ranma had hurt Shampoo. Ukyo arrived a few minutes later in the company of Akane and Nabiki. They had stopped by her shop on the way home because Ukyo volunteered to supply dinner.

Akane had been unusually quiet ever since they had released her the night before and this morning when she arrived at school, she had been unusually vicious in dealing with Kuno. Reports Nabiki received indicated that there was a good possibility that the Kuno line would now only extend through Kodachi. The mercenary Tendo was glad she had Kuno's pattern of sexual harassment and assault well-documented including the early attempts that had been made to rein the delusional idiot in. They would certainly come in handy if any charges were pressed against her family.

Likewise, Ukyo was also pensive as to what the future might hold. For so long, her goals had centered around the pigtailed martial artist, first for vengeance and then for marriage. Now she was facing the fact that he may never be coming back from the world he was currently trapped in and even if he did, he might very well be lost to her anyway.

Genma and Soun also remained subdued. Genma by Nodoka's presence, Soun by the realization that he had really mucked things up with his daughters. Genma had only lamented about how dishonorable and worthless Ranma was once. Nodoka pointed out that if that were true then he had failed in the terms of the contract and should prepare himself. The Panda-man retracted his words very quickly after that and limited his laments to when Nodoka was out of earshot.

Of everyone, only Kasumi and Nabiki seemed eager to watch the tapes with something other than grim determination to see things through. Both were happy that Ranma seemed to be thriving away from the petty, daily pressure that was applied to him here. Nabiki's happiness was tempered by the knowledge of how the original story ended. She hoped Ranma's incredible ability to pull off the win in spite of the odds against him shined through in this case as well.

Cologne, as always, found Ranma's exploits entertaining. She was old and wise enough not to begrudge Ranma his involvement with the two girls; after all, he had no idea if he would return to this world or not, but she hated seeing Shampoo heartbroken.

For her part, Nodoka also had mixed feelings. While fascinated with the adventure her son was involved in, she was getting a very candid look into the real Ranma behind the mask he wore to make those around him here happy. Nabiki had bluntly told her the previous night that what she considered manly was anathema to Ranma. The middle Tendo told her that Ranma was the type of boy that would never engage in casual sex, nor would he engage in any immoral acts like peeping on girls.

Nabiki went on to say that, while he did tend to stretch his honor code to the breaking point at times, especially in pursuit of a cure to his curse, he always tried to do the right thing no matter the personal cost to himself. The girl assured her that even if Ranma was a bit uncultured and ill-spoken, he was certainly the most desired male of all among the girls in the area.

Thus Nodoka was forced to not only consider how her son's curse, and apparent acceptance of it, fit in with the terms of the contract, but also that her values might not be shared by the world at large. Nabiki had been adamant that the type of man she wished for Ranma to be would be shunned as a deviant by girls of his generation.

It was with these thoughts that the gathered group began watching the fourth tape in the Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/2 series.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I'm home," Ranma called out as he walked in the door.

Rei appeared in the hallway. Ranma gulped as she walked towards him. She was wearing a thin, sky-blue, silk chemise that clung to her lithe body, and a pair of white panties. While it wasn't that uncommon for Rei to walk around naked, particularly when he was in the furo, this was a whole other concept. This was way more...something that Ranma didn't really want to think about.

Rei walked right up to Ranma and put her arms around his torso, burying her face in his chest. Ranma's arms encircled her as well and they stood there for several long moments before he noticed the way that Rei clung to him almost desperately.

"You okay, Rei-chan?" Ranma asked.

"I do not like being alone," Rei stated as she clung tighter.

Ranma gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay, I'm here," Ranma said soothingly. "Do you wanna hear about how things went?"

She nodded against his chest but didn't release him. Ranma smiled and scooped her up bridal fashion, causing her to make a noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle, and carried her in to sit on the couch. She settled comfortably on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder, waiting for him to tell the story.

She knew most of it already. That was one reason why she was so upset. They had very nearly lost Asuka, whom Rei considered part of their mating unit. It felt very nearly as dreadful as when she thought Ranma had been killed by the Fifth angel. It was something that Rei deeply regretted that she was only able to tell how much she cared about someone after being faced with losing them.

"Well, as you know, the angel, in chrysalis form, was in a volcano," Ranma began. "At first things went pretty normally. They lowered Asuka down with no trouble but it turned out that the angel was a bit deeper than expected. She lost her prog knife on the way down but eventually she saw the angel."

As Ranma spoke, he was gently stroking Rei's back as she lay against him.

"Asuka managed to successfully capture the chrysalis," Ranma continued, "but as they started to winch her back up, the angel hatched. It broke free of the cage and came after her. I tossed her my prog knife but it didn't do any good; the angel's shell was too hard from developing in all the heat and pressure of the magma. Anyway, we figured out that we could pump it full of coolant, which would cause the shell to crack.

"It worked and Asuka managed to destroy the angel, but in its death throws it severed the cables pulling her up. Well, I couldn't go losing one of you, so I jumped in and caught the severed ends of her cables so they could pull us up."

"How is she?" Rei asked softly.

"As self-satisfied as ever," Ranma chuckled. "I think she might have strained a few of my ribs in the hug she gave me when she got out of the entry plug. She and Misato are visiting the local hot spring and should be home tomorrow."

"So we will be alone tonight?" Rei asked tonelessly.

"Yeah," Ranma confirmed, utterly not expecting what happened next.

Ranma felt Rei's slim hand rise up to meet his cheek with a feather-light touch. Gently, she turned his face toward hers until he was looking deeply into her crimson eyes. Slowly and hesitantly, her head began moving toward his as Ranma watched, mesmerized by her beautiful eyes. When those eyes closed, Ranma stiffened in anxiety as he realized their lips were scant millimeters apart. Because of their position, noses weren't a problem. Rei's lips brushed against Ranma's ever so tentatively, but then more firmly and confidently.

Ranma's eyes reflexively scanned the room for the threats that usually popped up at this point but found none. He felt overwhelmed in the moment and soon gave in. Tenderly, he began to kiss Rei back. This was good...very good. Ranma had never felt this close to anyone before and the feelings welling up inside him made him want to get closer yet.

Their kissing built to a hungry intensity as Ranma gently laid her back on the couch and lay himself beside her, raised up on one elbow to give him access to her hungry silken lips. Their legs intertwined with each other's as their tongues caressed and explored the other's mouth. Their hands weren't idle either as fingers stroked through hair and warm, flushed skin was touched and caressed.

For an hour, they kissed and stroked each other, never progressing beyond light petting, but being very thorough within those bounds. When the passion became too much, they finally stopped and cuddled each other, Rei spooned up to Ranma as he held her from behind.

"Ranma?" Rei said softly and timidly. "I-I think I am falling in love with you."

"I think I'm fallin' for you too, Rei," Ranma replied.

"B-but there's something else," Rei pressed on. "I-I think I also am beginning to care a great deal for Asuka as well."

"Me too, Rei," Ranma chuckled softly.

"I know she likes you a great deal," Rei said, barely above a whisper. "Do you think...would it be possible for us to share you?"

"Let's just see what happens," Ranma said, giving the blue-haired girl a reassuring squeeze. "If all of us agree that this would be the best for us then I don't see why not."

"That is acceptable," Rei murmured.

"Rei? Thank you," Ranma said softly, nuzzling her neck.

"For what?" Rei asked.

"I knew I was gonna be teachin' you, about livin', as well as the Art," Ranma explained. "But I never figured on you teachin' me how nice it is to show affection to someone you care about without being hit for it."

"It was my pleasure," Rei said, Ranma able to hear the smile in her voice.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Misato..." Asuka said hesitantly as the two of them soaked in the hot spring. "I'm...uh...sorry about beating you like a drum. You were right; being here to fight is more important than a trip to Okinawa."

"It's okay, Asuka," Misato smiled. "I'd have been pissed off too if someone told me I couldn't go on the vacation I was looking forward to. That doesn't mean I'm not going to train and beat you down in the rematch though."

"Game on," Asuka said, smirking wickedly.

The pair giggled before falling silent again.

"Misato?" Asuka asked nervously. "What do you think of Ranma?"

Misato laughed.

"I think if I was 10 years younger, we'd be having hot, steamy, marathon sex at every opportunity," Misato grinned as Asuka blinked at her. "You really like him, don'tcha?"

"Yeah," Asuka sighed wistfully. "I don't understand it. He's uncultured, arrogant, he's got that weird curse, and I have to share him with Wondergirl..."

"But he's strong, smart, kind, gorgeous in both forms, knows a woman's body better than any man you'll ever meet," Misato listed. "He's the most talented fighter I've ever seen. He's loyal to his friends, and he's not afraid to risk his life to protect those he cares about. Does that about sum it up?"

"He's also someone who can relate to my past," Asuka added. "And when he saved me...I just can't describe how I felt. I mean one moment I'm as good as dead and the next, there he is, snatching me back to safety, like, no matter what, he'll always be there to protect me. I-I've never felt this strongly for someone. I mean I thought I was in love with Kaji, but that didn't feel anything like this."

"Trust me on this one, Ranma is a much better catch than Kaji," Misato said. "Kaji may be cute in a scruffy sort of way, and he may know how to smooth talk a woman, but in the end, that's all it is, just talk. With Ranma, if he tells you something, you can take it to the bank. What about Rei? Are you really willing to share?"

"I don't know," Asuka answered. "It's weird. She's so different than anyone I've ever met. At first, I was really put off by how dispassionate she seems, but then, watching her with Ranma, you can tell there's a lot more below the surface than she lets on. The weirdest part is; I don't think I can picture being with Ranma without her too."

"The idea of being with another girl doesn't bother you?" Misato grinned, causing Asuka to blush deeply.

"Yeah, well, I did think about that," Asuka said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. I guess if you want to be with Ranma it's something you better be able to deal with since his curse makes it part of the package. It'd be kinda shallow to only show him I care when he's in guy form."

"That's an awfully mature view," Misato commented, mildly surprised.

"Well, Rei and I talked about it," Asuka admitted. "She has no problems being attracted to him in either form and she has this weird gift of distilling what's important from everything else with just a couple short words. She's the one that convinced me you can't care for half the person and not the other half. Besides, Ranma and I have a lot of fun playing twins."

Misato laughed. The two were fun to watch when they messed with people's minds and they were really cute. Especially with Rei playing the ultimate straight man, the three of them just seemed to belong together.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

When Asuka and Misato returned home, Asuka walked in the door to find herself in a bone-crunching hug delivered by a relieved, if not obviously so, Rei. At first the redhead stiffened but then she began to return the embrace.

"I am pleased that you are well," Rei said softly. "I was...distraught when it appeared you were lost. Please do not do so again."

Asuka giggled softly at Rei's impersonal manner of expressing her very personal concern.

"Hey, no worries," Asuka grinned. "I'm fine and Variable-chan wouldn't have let anything happen to me."

Asuka looked over Rei's shoulder to see a grinning Ranma leaning casually against the wall watching them. She held out her hand to him and he came over and joined the hug.

The warm, fuzzy moment was interrupted by the flash of a camera causing the teens to separate, although clearly reluctantly, with each sporting a blush. Misato giggled as she put down her camera and cracked open a beer.

"You know," Misato teased them, "if you guys keep this up, I don't know if I'll be able to stand the sweetness. I'll have to move out due to the over-exposure to 'cute'. Us lonely old women have a low tolerance to that sort of thing, you know?"

Ranma and Asuka grinned wickedly, looking at each other and then Rei in silent communication. Suddenly, Misato found herself in the middle of a group glomp.

"But we love you, Misato," Asuka said.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us," Ranma agreed.

"Your relocation from our home would be most distressing," Rei concurred.

"Aww, you guys," Misato laughed, very touched. "I love you guys too."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Look, there's Ranma," Kensuke announced. "And he's holding hands with both Rei and Asuka! Oh, man, I don't know whether to envy him or feel sorry for him."

"What? Where?" Toji asked, coming to the window.

"Ah geez," Ichiro whined. "Ikari is hording all the babes. That guy is so lucky."

There was a general chorus of agreement there.

"Yeah, right," Toji snorted. "Like any of you knuckleheads even noticed Ayanami before Ranma started dating her."

"Yeah, but did he have to take the most popular girl in school too?" Jiro complained.

"Believe me, you guys don't want any part of the Red Demon," Toji said gravely, Kensuke nodding vigorously in agreement. "She's got a bigger ego than Ranma and an attitude to match it."

"But she's so hot!" Daichi said, getting another chorus of agreement. "It's not right! He already had Rei. He didn't have to take Asuka too!"

"Well what are you gonna do about it?" Toji smirked. "Beat him up? I can't even touch the guy in a fight. You morons wouldn't have a prayer."

"You're just saying that because you're already dating Horaki," Jiro said. "What about the rest of us?"

Toji blinked. Dating the class rep? He began to think about all those times the girl had been along with them when they hung out. He had thought she was just friends with Ranma, but now that he thought about it, she did seem to always be close to him. Come to think of it, Hikari was pretty enough, a little overbearing at times, but she was nice. Toji smiled. Yeah, he could do a lot worse.

"Well, maybe if you jerks asked a girl out instead of obsessing about who Ikari's dating, you'd be dating someone too," Toji smirked.

Meanwhile at the other end of the classroom, Hikari was getting grilled by the girls.

"So Hikari, you hang out with Ranma's group," Ayame said. "What's going on there? Is he really dating both Asuka and Rei?"

"Yeah, what's going on with that?" Hoshi demanded. "I mean we still had a chance if it was just Ayanami, but if he's dating Asuka, we're sunk."

"I guess they are dating," Hikari admitted.

"That's weird," Michi said. "How can Asuka date a guy that's dating another girl at the same time?"

"Well, they are all pilots," Hikari said. "Maybe they have some sort of bond."

"OH! That's so romantic!" Kiko gushed, holding her hands up beside her face. "Joined together in the heat of battle when Ranma saved them from certain death! They're so lucky!"

The other girls sweat-dropped.

"Well, anyway, I don't see anything wrong with it," Hikari said. "It's not like he's two-timing them. I know Ranma and he's not like that. If anything, Asuka and Rei agreed to share him. They do fit together well."

"Yeah, kinda like fire and ice," Ayame snickered.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The girls finally managed to corner Asuka later that day in the gym locker room. Asuka finished changing into her gym clothes and turned around to find herself surrounded by a group of determined looking girls. Then the interrogation started.

"Is it true you and Ayanami are both dating Ranma?"

"How can you stand to date a guy that's dating another girl at the same time?"

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"Have you kissed _her_ yet?"

"Don't you live with him? Have you seen him naked?"

Questions peppered the beleaguered redhead from all sides.

"Meine Gott!" Asuka screamed. "Stop it! If you must know, yes, Rei and I are both dating Ranma. Yes, I'm happy about it. No, I haven't kissed him yet and I certainly haven't kissed her yet. It's none of your business whether I've seen him naked. Ranma is a great guy and he cares for both of us. Rei and I decided that we wouldn't make him choose between us. If anyone doesn't like it, well that's just too damn bad because it works for us! Idioten!"

Asuka shoved her way through the crowd of girls and stalked out of the locker room.

The crowd of girls blinked.

"Did she say that she hadn't kissed Rei _yet_?" someone asked.

"Ewwww!" several of them chorused.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

In the boys' locker room, a similar scene was taking place. Being boys, the questions were far more crude. There were also some demands mixed in to know where Ranma got off thinking he rated two girls. When the questions started to get more explicit, Ranma exploded.

"That's IT!" Ranma shouted. "The next one of you perverted jerks that asks me questions like that is gonna get their head busted! It ain't none of your damn business what goes on between Asuka, Rei, and me! Ain't nobody forcing anybody to do anything! If this is what they want, well, I care about them both, and I want them both to be happy! You jackasses got a problem with that, that's just too damn bad, because I don't really give a rat's ass. The only thing that matters to me is Rei and Asuka's happiness. And if I find out any of you jerks are harassing them you'll be eating through a straw."

Ranma stormed out, flanked by Toji and Kensuke. As he exited the locker room with a scowl on his face, he saw a similarly scowling Asuka come out of the girls' locker room.

"Was it bad?" Ranma asked, a look of concern replacing the scowl.

"It's wasn't too bad," Asuka smiled reassuringly. "How about you?"

"They're a real pack of perverts," Ranma growled before looking over to Rei who had been waiting for Asuka to come out. "How about you, Rei?"

"I have not been bothered," Rei said.

"Okay, well, you guys let me know if any guys bother you and I'll take care of it," Ranma said.

"I'm sure there won't be any problems, Variable-chan," Asuka smirked. "They're just jealous of us is all."

"Well, I am dating the two prettiest girls in school," Ranma grinned, proud of his moment of inspiration as Rei and Asuka blushed cutely.

"Yeah, well, between Rei and I, we've got the school's most prime beefcake locked down tight," Asuka smiled.

"That you do," Ranma smirked.

"Um...if you guys are done stroking each other's egos, could we go to class now?" Toji deadpanned.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hold the door!" Misato heard a familiar voice call out from down the hall as she boarded the elevator.

Her face remained expressionless as she reached out and casually depressed the button to close the doors. The doors slowly began to close as the sound of running feet drew closer. Just before they did, a hand slipped between them.

Misato grimaced sourly in disappointment.

"Whew, made it," Kaji puffed, cheerfully ignoring the fact that Misato had not held the door for him. "I haven't run that fast in a long time. Why the sour face?"

"Because something in here stinks," Misato sneered glibly, her eye twitching.

"Well, I took a shower this morning so it couldn't be me," Kaji smirked.

Misato's teeth began to grind as she growled at him.

"Misato..." Kaji began smoothly, putting his right hand on her shoulder.

Misato grabbed his hand with her right hand, pulled him forward and grabbed the back of his head with her left hand, slamming his face into the elevator doors before driving a knee into his kidney.

"Owie," Kaji groaned as he slid to the floor.

Misato smirked, looking very self-satisfied, and ignored the groans. After a minute, Kaji struggled to his feet.

"Ranma?" he asked curiously.

"Yup," Misato smirked, glad for Ranma's training for a change. "Touch me again and you'll be pissing blood from both kidneys."

"Can't have that, now can we?" Kaji drawled.

Suddenly the elevator stopped moving and the lights went out, plunging them into total darkness for a moment before the red emergency lighting came on.

"Power failure?" Kaji asked casually.

"Nothing to worry about," Misato said. "The back up circuits should kick in any minute now."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ritsuko stood in the red light of the control booth where they had been running the power-up checks on the newly refitted Unit 00 when the power went down. Her eyes darted from side to side, looking at the various techs looking at her.

"Um...that wasn't us," she offered with a hint of defensiveness in her tone. "Come on. Let's get the door open and find out what's going on."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I know you guys want some time out with me in my guy form, but I don't see how me being dressed like this is going to score us any ice cream," Ranma said as he walked along with his arms around the two girls' waists.

"But you do look scrumptious, Variable-chan," Asuka purred, reaching down and patting him on the butt.

Ranma was wearing a black t-shirt that was about two sizes too small for him and a tight pair of jeans. Under the tight shirt and jeans, you could see every ripple of every muscle as he moved. Even though he was obviously with the two girls flanking him, more than one woman had walked into a light pole while watching him instead of where she was walking. A couple of girls even developed nose bleeds which filled Asuka with pride and satisfaction.

"Thanks, I guess," Ranma said, stiffening slightly when Asuka patted his butt. "This isn't really my style. These jeans are a little tight to move around in freely, but if you guys like it, I guess it's okay every once in a while. You guys are looking pretty hot too."

Asuka was wearing a black mini-skirt with a small, blue crop-top that gave flashes of her tight tummy. Rei was wearing a pair of tight, white chino shorts with a tight, red tank top. Like Ranma, the girls were causing more than a few guys to collide with various obstacles as they craned their necks to look.

"Um...guys, do you notice anything weird?" Ranma asked, perplexed.

"Like what, Variable-chan?" Asuka asked.

"The electricity is out," Rei said after a pause.

"Yeah, that's it," Ranma said. "Things are too still and quiet."

"Maybe we should call in and see if anything's wrong?" Asuka suggested.

Rei pulled out her cell phone and looked at it.

"I am not getting a signal," Rei said.

Ranma and Asuka confirmed that their cell phones weren't getting a signal either. They had similar results when they tried the pay phone.

"Now what?" Asuka asked. "Do you think it's an attack?"

Rei reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. She quickly opened it and read the contents.

"The emergency orders say we should report to NERV," Rei said.

"Right, well, lead the way, Rei-chan," Ranma said.

"It's this way," Rei said, walking off toward the nearest entrance to the geo-front.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Motoko Hyuga was walking toward NERV when JSDF aircraft flew over announcing that an angel had been spotted headed toward Tokyo-3.

"Oh man, I have to report this to headquarters," he said, looking around at the empty streets.

Suddenly a horn beeped and Hyuga heard his name called over a loud speaker. Turning, he saw one of NERV's utility trucks bearing down on him.

"We have to get to headquarters and tell them about the angel," Hyuga said urgently as the truck stopped beside him.

"Right!" the driver said as Hyuga got in.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"It's so hot," Misato whined, fanning herself.

"Well, if you want, you can always take off your shirt," Kaji grinned. "It's not like you have anything I haven't seen before."

"You're such a jerk, Kaji," Misato growled, zipping up her jacket and buttoning the collar. "You won't ever see it again if I have anything to say about it."

"You wound me, Misato," Kaji drawled melodramatically.

"I'm gonna wound you if you come near me," Misato spat.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei led Ranma and Asuka through the labyrinth of tunnels into the geo-front. As they passed under a vehicle access road, they heard a vehicle approaching and a voice calling out over a loudspeaker.

"That sounds like Hyuga," Ranma commented.

"There's an angel approaching!" the loud speaker announced. "Everyone get to cover, there is an angel approaching!"

"Aw, man, what a time for an angel to attack," Asuka moaned.

"Figures," Ranma said. "I guess we better hurry."

The trio hurried on through the corridors until they hit a dead end where a large slab of debris was blocking the tunnel.

"Now what?" Asuka asked. "I don't think even you could get through that, Variable-chan."

"I might be able to blast through it with a ki blast, but I don't think it'd be a good idea. It might bring the roof down on us," Ranma said.

"There is another way," Rei said, stepping over to an air vent and removing the cover. "This way."

Rei entered the duct followed by Asuka, with Ranma bringing up the rear. They were forced to crawl along on their hands and knees due to the height of the duct. It wasn't the most comfortable way to get there, but Ranma had to admit he was enjoying the view.

"Ranma, are you looking up my skirt?" Asuka demanded.

"Um...yeah?" Ranma said with a nervous chuckle and braced himself for the boot-to-da-head.

"Good, just checking," Asuka giggled and gave her tush a little wiggle.

A loud clang was heard as Ranma face-faulted hard into the bottom of the duct.

"Owie," Ranma mentioned as he pulled his face out of the large dent.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

After Hyuga had arrived to inform them of the angel, Gendo Ikari marshaled the NERV personnel and currently they were preparing the Eva's for launch manually. Ritsuko and Maya stood on the platform watching the men hoist the entry plugs into position with ropes and pullies.

"Can we really launch the Eva's manually?" Maya asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Ritsuko said. "Once everything is in place, the diesel generator will provide enough power to insert the entry plugs."

"But who's going to pilot them?" Maya asked.

Suddenly, there were three light thumps behind them.

"That would be us," Ranma smirked as the two women turned toward the sound to see the three pilots standing there.

"There you guys are," Ritsuko said, as if they hadn't just dropped out of the ventilation duct. "Commander Ikari has almost got the Eva's ready for you. You just need to suit up and we can launch."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The angel, weirdly resembling a Daddy-long-legs spider, made its way into Tokyo-3. It marched through the city, drawn to the point where it would make its attack. Soon, it reached the area and settled its body close to the ground. From a large eye on the bottom of its body, it began to drip acid. The acid fell on the ground and began to eat through the armored access cover of the shaft that would lead it toward its goal.

As the angel was beginning its attack, three Eva's were moving toward the surface to engage it. Each carried a naginata and two short-shafted spears clamped to its back. In addition to that, each had been fitted with two large auxiliary battery packs fixed to their shoulder pylons.

Asuka had taken the point position and was leading Rei while Ranma followed closely behind her. They finally reached the vertical shaft that would take them to the surface and they began to scale the shaft by bracing themselves with their hands and feet on the walls. Laboriously, they began to ascend.

They had made it a good distance up the shaft when the first drops of acid began to rain down on Asuka. She screamed in pain as a large amount fell on Unit 02's back and began to dissolve the batteries. Some of it splashed out and landed on the wall immediately above the foot she was using to brace herself with. The wall liquefied as the acid ran down causing the bracing foot to slip. Deprived of the friction necessary to hold itself, Unit 02 fell.

The red Eva slammed into the, now, bright-blue unit 00, causing Rei to lose her grip. Ranma saw the two Evas falling toward him and desperately anchored his Eva to the walls of the shaft using his ki/AT field. He grunted as the pair impacted heavily but he maintained his hold.

"You girls okay?" Ranma asked.

"I am well," Rei responded.

"I'm fine but we have to get out of this shaft," Asuka said. "That thing is pouring acid down on us."

A minute later the three Evas were crouched in a side tunnel trying to think of a plan.

"Okay, anyone got any ideas?" Ranma asked.

"I think I might have one," Asuka spoke up. "Ranma, do you think you can do that thing you did when we fought the angel underwater with just battery power?"

"Yeah, but it will completely drain the batteries," Ranma answered.

"Then you'll have to make the shot count," Asuka grinned. "Rei, do you think you can project your AT field like Ranma has been teaching us?"

"Yes," Rei replied verbosely.

"Good, here's the plan," Asuka explained the plan to them. "Everybody understand?"

"Affirmative," Rei acknowledged.

"Got it," Ranma said. "Great plan, Asuka-chan."

Asuka blushed under the praise as Ranma sat Unit 01 down at the edge of the tunnel with his back toward the shaft. Asuka squatted Unit 02 down, bracing Unit 01's legs. Once they were in position, Rei began projecting her AT field out at an angle away from the shaft wall, deflecting the acid away from them. Ranma leaned back until Unit 01's upper torso was sticking straight out into the shaft and began to gather his ki-infused AT field.

Once he focused the energy into a giant, reddish-gold ball, he gave Rei the signal.

"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma shouted as Rei dropped her AT field.

The ki/AT ball rocketed up the shaft, incinerating the acid as it went. When it reached surface, it struck the angel and vaporized its body in a massive explosion. The angel's legs, all that remained of it, fell to the ground.

Back in the tunnel, Rei's battery went dead just after she dropped the AT field. Unit 00 swayed on its feet and began to fall. Asuka reached out and grabbed Unit 00 with one hand and guided Rei's unit to fall safely inside the tunnel rather than into the shaft. Then she had just enough time to drag Unit 01's limp form back into the tunnel before her power ran out as well.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato stood with her knees on Kaji's shoulders as she tried to open the access hatch in the top of the elevator.

"It won't open," Misato whined as she pounded on the hatch. "Why won't it open? Are you looking up my skirt?"

"No, Misato," Kaji said tiredly. "Hurry up, I can't hold you up there forever."

"You better not be, and I'm trying," Misato said.

Suddenly, the lights came back on and the elevator jerked into motion. Kaji lost his balance and he fell to the floor with Misato landing on top of him. Just then the elevator doors opened revealing a crowd of people gaping at the compromising position the pair were in. Ritsuko stood at the front of the pack, wearing a disapproving look.

"Sex fiends," Maya commented over Ritsuko's shoulder.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka sat back on the couch. Ranma was reclined against her, his head resting comfortably on her tummy, fast asleep. Rei was curled up on top of him with her head resting on his chest as he held her in his arms. The two of them had been so drained by their efforts they had barely made it home before they passed out.

Asuka gently stroked Ranma's hair as she watched over Ranma and her co-girlfriend. They looked so cute laying there asleep and Asuka was suddenly filled with a fierce possessiveness for both of them. 'Mine!' the thought rang through her head. She could hardly believe how strongly she felt for the pair. If someone had told her before she came here that she would be happily involved in a relationship like this, that person would have been the victim of her fiery temper and a hard slap in the face.

Now, all she wanted to do was grab them both and hold them tightly to her. The fears she hid deep inside didn't seem to matter when she was with them. Somehow she knew that they would never let anything happen to her. Likewise, she would protect them to her last breath. It was swiftly becoming such that Asuka couldn't picture her life without Ranma and Rei as her mates.

Asuka idly traced the line of Ranma's jaw with the back of her hand. Ranma nuzzled up against it in his sleep causing the redhead to smile gently. Her other hand softly toyed with a few stray locks of Rei's blue hair. For the first time she could remember, she felt fulfilled and happy.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

When Nabiki stopped the tape the room was silent except for a few soft sniffles from the fiancées. The beginning of the episode had confirmed their worst fears. Ranma had confessed his love for two girls that were not them. Asuka and Rei had succeeded where they had failed and they were heartbroken.

The four older females in the room looked on in compassion as the three of them sat there as if shell-shocked. Ukyo had tears streaming down her face as she struggled to contain her pain. Shampoo sat stoically with very little trace of her accustomed bubbly personality. Akane refused to cry again, but they could see the pain in her eyes as her bottom lip quivered.

Kasumi, while sad for the fiancées, was deeply touched by the sweet, affectionate scenes with Ranma and the two girls in the video. She was very happy for Ranma, but she found she was at odds with herself. She wanted Ranma to return to them, but she found that she also hoped he could stay there with the girls he loved. She was glad she didn't have to choose whether he came back or not.

Sighing wistfully, she got up and went into the kitchen to make some tea.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	12. Chapter 12

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 12**

One trait shared by most people associated with Ranma was their capacity for self-delusion. However, that capacity was taking a severe beating among the people that gathered to watch Ranma's adventure in the world he had been sent to. This stemmed from the fact that they were now getting a chance to see Ranma's candid thoughts and opinions. Most of them were not complimentary towards a majority of the people in the room.

While it was depressing for the fiancées to see Ranma in his developing relationship with the two girls in the video, their beleaguered capacity for self-delusion stepped up to the challenge. The wheels of thought began to turn in their minds, producing new plans. Most of them starting with a common thread.

'When Ranma returns, he's going to be heartbroken about being taken from those two girls. I will just have to be there for him and he will see that I really do care. Then he will be mine!'

While this thought only partially lifted their spirits, it did give them the strength to continue watching the videos as events unfolded. After all, good intel would be necessary if their campaign to capture the pigtailed martial artist was to be successful.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Yo, Kaji," Ranma called out as she walked down the wooded path toward the man tending a melon patch. "How's it goin'? Been skulkin' about in any restricted areas lately?"

"Hello, Ranma," Kaji said smoothly. "Why no, I haven't. Have you?"

"Don't need to," Ranma replied. "I don't have a JSDF contact I need to report to."

The scruffy man stiffened slightly.

"You should be more careful with what you say, Ranma," Kaji cautioned. "If I were a JSDF agent, I might be forced to do something unpleasant to you to maintain my cover."

"Heh," Ranma scoffed. "Ain't like you could touch me anyway. If you were a JSDF agent, I would think you'd be more worried about just who else knows."

"True," Kaji admitted. "Was there something that you needed?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," Ranma smirked. "Misato would like to see ya. She sent me to get ya."

"Then by all means, Beautiful, lead the way," Kaji drawled.

Ranma would have bristled at the come-on had she not known what was in store for the jerk. As it was, she just grinned as she walked up the path, giving a little extra sway to her hips to keep the man distracted until his fate was sealed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato stood in the gym talking to Asuka about their plans later in the day when Ranma entered with her vict...er...guest in tow. Asuka's face brightened in an incandescent smile as Ranma walked up.

"Variable-chan! Are you ready to go?" she asked, grabbing the other girl's hands excitedly.

"That I am, Beautiful," Ranma grinned back.

The two girls waved to Misato, Ranma shooting her a wink, and quickly left the gym. Kaji blinked at having been totally ignored by Asuka. Misato smirked.

"Is it just me or did I just get completely cast aside?" Kaji asked in dismay.

"What can I say? She traded the old MG for a Porsche; better looks, more style, much higher performance, and so much more reliable," Misato laughed.

"I see," Kaji drawled with a smirk. "And if he's so much better then why haven't you joined his little harem, Misato?"

"Who says I haven't?" Misato laughed at the bug-eyed expression on Kaji's face. "Besides, I get pounded on by Rei and Asuka enough during the friendly spars. I'm for sure not going to give them a reason to kick my ass for poaching. Which brings us to why I asked you here; I never did thank you for that little plan of yours for dealing with the 7th angel."

"No need to thank me, Misato," Kaji said nervously as Misato cracked her knuckles.

"Oh, but there is," Misato said sweetly. "You made us all look like a bunch of fools. A fourteen-year-old kid came up with a much better plan. So we're going to have a little spar so I can work out my frustrations."

"This really isn't necessary, Misato," Kaji attempted.

"I insist," Misato smirked wickedly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka and Ranma listened at the door as the sounds of violence ensued. They snickered to each other at Kaji's girlish shrieks as Misato worked him over.

"Wow, she's got a long list of offenses she needs to work off," Ranma remarked as Misato listed each offense after landing a blow.

"That's not supposed to bend that waaaay!" they heard Kaji scream.

"She's pretty mad," Asuka agreed.

Ranma winced as they heard Kaji shriek, "No, please, not little Kaji-kuuuuun!"

"I think Misato has things under control," Ranma observed. "We better go."

"Yeah," Asuka nodded in agreement.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"What's wrong, Variable-chan?" Asuka asked as they returned home from the carnival. "You didn't seem like you had much fun."

"No, I had fun," Ranma, currently in female form, said, producing a smile for her to prove it. "It's just that...I guess I'm worried about Rei. I don't like her being alone with him. Not after the things she told us."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Asuka sighed. "But if she hadn't gone, the Commander would have known something was up. He might have tried to take her from us."

"Yeah, but I still worry," Ranma said. "You're both very important to me."

"You're important to us too," Asuka smiled. "Maybe I can help take your mind off being worried," Asuka said with a suggestive grin.

"Okay," Ranma said with a smile. "Just let me get some hot water."

As she turned to head to the kitchen, Asuka's hand fell on her shoulder and spun her around. Ranma suddenly found her breasts crushed against Asuka's and her lips being thoroughly kissed. Without letting up on the kiss, Asuka guided them over to the couch, pushing Ranma down onto it.

Ranma moaned as Asuka's tongue entered her mouth, exploring and caressing. She kissed back passionately as her hands came up, kneading and caressing the muscles along the other redhead's spine. Asuka's hands began their own explorations, stroking and caressing Ranma's body. Ranma was beginning to feel very warm as her body began to react to Asuka's ministrations.

Twenty minutes later, two very aroused girls lay panting and cuddling each other. Asuka, for all her talk with Misato, was slightly disturbed at how turned on she was by just making out and light petting with Ranma's female form. This had been an experiment for her to see if she could walk the walk as well as talk the talk. The answer was a resounding 'YES'.

"God, I love you so much," Asuka breathed as she clutched the other redhead to her tightly with an almost desperate need.

"I love you too, Asuka-chan," Ranma smiled, stroking the other girl's cheek tenderly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei got home feeling mentally exhausted. Spending time with Commander Ikari had become a grueling experience that she didn't enjoy at all. She was just glad to be home.

Entering the living room she was greeted by the sight of a male Ranma sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch with Asuka straddling his lap and making every effort to suck his tonsils out. Smiling slightly, Rei walked over and knelt behind Asuka. Gently pulling the red hair to the side, the blue-haired girl leaned forward and began to trail light kisses along the redhead's neck.

Asuka broke her kiss with Ranma and turned her head toward the newcomer. Rei capitalized by capturing her lips in a deep kiss. The redhead moaned and leaned back against Rei, bringing her hand up to the back of Rei's head.

Had Asuka's thinking not been fogged by being so turned on from making out with Ranma, she might have been a little freaked that she was now making out with her co-girlfriend. As it was, it felt very nice and her growing care for Rei silenced any protests she might have come up with normally.

"Welcome home, Rei-chan," Asuka said breathily after they broke the kiss.

"Thank you," Rei said, hugging the redhead tightly from behind.

Ranma sat up and sandwiched Asuka between them while engaging in his own tender kiss with Rei over Asuka's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're back," Ranma said. "How was it?"

"It was exhausting," Rei said. "But I do not believe that Commander Ikari suspects anything amiss."

"Are you hungry?" Ranma asked.

"Maybe in a while," Rei answered. "I would just like to snuggle for now."

The teens rearranged themselves so that Rei was held between the other two and lay there enjoying the closeness of the moment.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji Suzuhara sat at his desk in class deep in thought. Nearby, Hikari watched her boyfriend with a look of concern etched on her features. Toji had been unusually subdued ever since he had been called to the office earlier and had refused to tell her what was wrong when she attempted to ask between classes.

Ranma also watched his friend in silent contemplation. He knew what was troubling Toji and he silently vowed to do everything he could to make sure the boy didn't suffer the same fate as before.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Toji?" Hikari asked softly as she approached the boy. "Please talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Toji sighed, knowing that she wouldn't let it go until he told her.

"They want me to pilot one of those Evas, Hikari," Toji said, causing Hikari to gasp. "They offered to have my sister moved to the NERV hospital if I agreed."

Hikari was now extremely worried for her boyfriend. She had seen how Rei had come to class, practically mummified with bandages and she also knew how dangerous it was fighting these monsters that kept attacking. But she also knew what Toji's decision was likely to be, if for no other reason than his sister would be moved to safety and get the best care.

"Toji," Hikari said, softly slipping her arm around him, "I want you to know, whatever your decision, I'll support you. I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt, but I'll understand if you feel like you have to do this for your sister and the rest of us."

Toji just nodded and slipped his arm around her, giving her a little squeeze of thanks as the two stood quietly together.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato stepped into the control room where the sync tests were taking place.

"So how are they doing?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"It's amazing," Ritsuko said. "Ranma's sync ratio has increased into the upper 90 percent range, but even more amazing is Rei and Asuka's improvement. Asuka is right at 90 percent while Rei is only slightly behind at 87 percent. Their training with Ranma is really paying off."

"Did you hear that, Variable-chan?" Asuka said challengingly. "I'm catching up to you!"

"That's great, Asuka-chan," Ranma smirked. "The only question is will you catch up to me before Rei passes you? She is closing the gap. Looks like you'll have to work a little harder if you want to stay ahead of her."

"WHAT!" Asuka screeched. "It'll never happen! I'll work twice as hard! I won't be in last place!"

Misato snickered.

"He sure knows how to motivate her, doesn't he?" Misato commented.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Pattern Orange, no AT field detected," Hyuga reported as Misato burst onto the command deck looking disheveled.

"You're late," Ritsuko snapped.

"I was held up. What do we have?" Misato said, ignoring Ritsuko's tone.

"Unknown at this time," Ritsuko said. "The Evas have been deployed and are awaiting instructions."

"Units 00 through 02, you are cleared to approach and engage," Misato said.

"Understood," Rei acknowledged.

"Roger," Ranma returned.

"I've got the point," Asuka said.

"Rei and I got your back," Ranma returned. "Just be careful, Asuka-chan, I got a bad feeling about this. Be ready for anything."

"Roger, Variable-chan," Asuka said as the three Evas moved into position.

Asuka hefted her prog spear and closed in on the black and white striped sphere that hung above the city. Once she closed the distance and got confirmation that Ranma and Rei were in position to support her, she drew back and let fly with the spear. Just as the spear was about to strike, the black and white globe vanished, leaving the spear to arc through empty space and lodge in a building on the opposite side. Suddenly, Asuka screamed.

"What the hell?" Asuka shrieked. "I'm sinking! Ranma, help!"

"Rei! Get to the top of a building and pull back out of the area!" Ranma ordered. "I'll get Asuka!"

"Understood," Rei acknowledged.

"Hang on, Asuka, I'm coming, Koi," Ranma shouted as he ran across rooftops towards her.

"Ranma, hurry!" Asuka cried, sounding terrified.

Upon reaching her, Ranma saw that Asuka's Eva was already sunk to her waist. He could only think of one plan. Jumping in just behind her, Ranma grabbed Asuka's Eva under the shoulders. Channeling all his energy, he heaved Unit 02 up out of the blackness and up to the top of a building.

"Asuka, pull back to safety! Get clear!" Ranma said.

"But what about you?" Asuka demanded.

"If there's a way out of this, I'll find it, I promise," Ranma said as Unit 01 sunk into the blackness. "Go! Please."

"Asuka, pull back. That's an order," Misato said grimly.

Asuka reluctantly complied. Ranma gave a jaunty salute as the head of Unit 01 began to sink into the blackness like some prehistoric beast trapped in a tar pit.

"Remember, I love you both," Ranma said and then the tip of Unit 01's horn disappeared and there was only static.

"RANMA!" both girls cried.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"The angel has stopped expanding at approximately 600 meters," Ritsuko briefed. "It's body is about 3 microns thick and it has an inverted AT field that produces a kind of Sea of Duroc. We believe the sphere is actually some sort of shadow."

"What about Ranma?" Misato asked.

"We reeled in the umbilical and found it had been severed somehow," Ritsuko explained. "If he doesn't thrash around blindly and goes into life support mode, he has about 15 hours before his power runs out."

"Dammit, find a way to get him back, Ritsuko!" Misato ordered angrily.

"Misato, I care about him as much as you do. Believe me, we are working as hard as we can to come up with something," Ritsuko said.

"I know, I'm sorry, Ritsuko," Misato sighed. "I'm just upset."

"If there's a way, we'll find it," Ritsuko assured her.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"THAT IDIOTEN!" Asuka screamed as she kicked the railing on the overlook. "That stupid dummkopf JERK! What the hell was he thinking? How dare he do something like this!" She punctuated each sentence by kicking the railing again. The railing was slowly bending under the blows as Asuka continued to rant and curse in German.

"Asuka?" Rei asked stepping up to the redhead and putting a hand on her shoulder.

Asuka spun around and grabbed Rei in a hug and began to sob.

"Why?" Asuka wailed. "Why did he do that for me?"

"Because he loves you," Rei said softly.

"But I'm not worth it!" Asuka wept. "Daddy left me! Mommy left me! I wasn't good enough for them. Why did Ranma sacrifice himself for me like that?"

"You were obviously worth it to him," Rei said, stroking the redhead's hair soothingly. "No greater love hath a man than when he gives his life to save another."

"Why did he leave us, Rei?" Asuka sobbed. "I love him. Why did he leave us?"

"He will return," Rei said firmly. "He promised and I believe in him."

Asuka nodded against the other girl.

Misato watched the two girls from around the corner as a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly turned and walked away before her own sobs began.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Oh, man, I'm bored," Ranma muttered to himself, checking the timer on his plug suit. "Been in here 12 hours now and still haven't thought of anything. Come on, Ranma, think! This is what you're best at. Improvise, adapt, and overcome."

"And nobody's better at it than you," a kind female voice said.

"GAH! Who the hell are you?" Ranma demanded when he looked up to see an olive-skinned woman dressed in a short, diaphanous toga-like outfit sitting on the instrument panel in front of him.

"Tisk, tisk, Ranma," the woman chided. "Don't you recognize your patron Goddess?"

"My patron Goddess? You sure you ain't the angel tryin' to screw with my head?" Ranma asked.

"No Ranma, I'm not the angel," the woman sighed. "I guess I should introduce myself. I am the Goddess Bastet, goddess of cats, pleasure, and motherhood. You were blessed by me before you were born. How else do you think you survived the Nekoken?"

"So...um...what do ya want with me?" Ranma asked nervously.

"Just protecting my investment," Bastet smiled. "I'm the one who is responsible for you being here after all."

"You sent me here?" Ranma asked. "Why?"

"Tell me, Ranma, were you happier where you were or here?" Bastet asked.

"Um...I guess I'm happier here," Ranma admitted. "I mean, nobody is really pressurin' me. No morons attackin' me at random. I'm fighting for a good cause. Rei and Asuka...I love them and they love me. Yeah, I'm happier here, but is this world real?"

"If you die here, you are dead," Bastet answered. "Is that real enough?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Ranma said. "So how do I get out of here?"

"Was it not mentioned that this angel produced this place with an inverted AT field?" Bastet asked. "Remember, Ranma, make the most of things here. You are learning invaluable lessons."

With that Bastet was gone leaving Ranma to think about what he had been told.

"Inverted AT field?" Ranma asked himself. "Hmm, the Umisenken works by inverting my ki, as does the Yamasenken."

Ranma grinned as he brought Unit 01's power back online.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ritsuko was in the middle of explaining her plan to destroy the angel to an increasingly agitated Misato. Ritsuko could understand why her friend's eye was twitching fiercely as Ritsuko detailed the plan which involved dropping the 902 available N2 mines into the angel and detonating them, quite likely killing Ranma and destroying Unit 01 in the process. The blonde scientist didn't like the plan any better than Misato did, but destroying the angel came first.

Misato was just about to explode with a stream of vitriol when the ground shook. Rushing to the railing they looked out at the formerly placid inky black surface that comprised the angel's body. It rocked and waved like a storm-swept sea.

"What the hell?" someone asked, calling their attention to the sphere above the convulsing blackness.

Suddenly two red-gold arcs appeared, glowing brightly as they burst from the surface of the sphere in a shower of red goo that looked a lot like blood. More of the glowing arcs burst out of the sphere until it finally exploded in gory chunks of angel flesh. From the middle of the explosion, Unit 01 dropped out and landed on the ground below, going to one knee and a fist and dripping with gore before it stopped moving.

"That was disgusting," Misato commented, looking a bit green around the gills.

"No argument from me," Ritsuko agreed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma had no sooner climbed out of the entry plug than Asuka came running up to him...and belted him a good one.

"YOU JERK!" she yelled, then glomped him, wailing. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she sobbed into his chest.

Ranma chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her while moving his jaw around to make sure it was still in the correct position. Misato rushed up and tearfully glomped them both. Rei was hanging back from the scene, wanting to join in, but conscious of the possible consequences.

"Why don't you go join them?" Ritsuko said coming up beside the blue-haired girl.

"I cannot. The Commander..." Rei said in a sad tone.

"Don't worry about it," Ritsuko interrupted. "I'll cover for you. Go. Go."

Rei looked at her in gratitude and then practically blurred as she cannonballed into the group.

"I am pleased that you are alright," Rei smiled. "I knew you would return to us."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The girls had planned it well. Misato was out on a date with Kaji, something that had been happening since they had attended that wedding together, and was not expected home that night. They had the condo all to themselves, so they had decided that they would prepare a 'welcome home' dinner for Ranma who had been released from the infirmary earlier that day.

Asuka was preparing a specialty of hers, bratwurst and sauerkraut, with roasted potatos, while Rei's contribution would be a nice garden salad with a light oil and vinegar dressing. It smelled delicious to Ranma who sat at the table with his mouth watering as he had been threatened with dire consequences should he set foot in the kitchen.

Fortunately, Ranma didn't have to wait very long as the girls were soon bringing out large amounts of tantalizing food. There was a large platter of bratwurst, a big pot of sauerkraut, a bowl of roasted potatoes, a large bowl of salad, a loaf of some sort of fresh, dark bread, and a dish of whipped sweet butter. As Rei settled at the table, Asuka disappeared into the kitchen one more time before reappearing with the coup de gras, three cans of beer.

"We simply can't have bratwurst uns sauerkraut without beer," Asuka said firmly at Ranma's questioning look.

Shrugging, the three dug into the feast before them. Ranma was in heaven as the food was as delicious as it looked. Rei avoided the bratwurst, but enjoyed the potatoes, sauerkraut, and, strangely enough, the beer.

"Oh man, that was fantasic, Guys," Ranma said, enthusiastically patting his stomach. "Best meal I've had in a long time."

"Thank you, Variable-chan," Asuka smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, thank you," Rei said, applying a kiss to his other cheek.

After dinner the girls sent Ranma out to find them something to watch on the TV while they cleaned up the dishes. He was joined about a half an hour later by Asuka and Rei with three more cans of beer, 'just to help dinner settle'.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato dragged herself in the door the next morning looking like death warmed over, reeking of booze and cigarettes. Passing through the living room, she froze and blinked. There on the table was a sizable stack of empty beer cans.

Misato quickly proceeded down the hallway and checked Ranma's room, finding it empty. She slid open the door to the girls room and her eyes bugged out. There, sprawled on the futons and cuddled tightly to each other were three naked girls. Misato sniffed, finding the air heavy with the scent of female arousal. Blushing at the implication, Misato quickly shut the door and headed for the kitchen. She really needed a beer before she thought about what to do about this.

Opening the fridge, Misato looked forlornly at her decimated beer supply before grabbing one of the remaining 108 cans and sitting down at the table. What was she going to do with those kids?

On the one hand, Misato realized that her credibility factor wasn't especially high in this area and they hadn't exactly been irresponsible. At least they hadn't been out running the streets while drinking. Getting drunk and having sex hadn't been the most responsible thing they could have done, but then Misato understood why they would do something like that after they almost lost Ranma to the last angel. It had brought home to them that they needed to make their time together count.

Misato wasn't against them having sex in spite of how young they were. Hell, as far as she knew, Ranma was the only one of them to have had a period as yet. She also knew that STD's weren't a factor. One of the girls turning up pregnant would be a huge problem, though. She would have to talk to them about taking precautions.

The drinking wasn't even that much of a problem. Asuka was experienced enough with beer to not let things get out of hand and the fact was, they had only drank 12 beers between them; certainly enough to make inexperienced kids like Rei and Ranma piss drunk depending on how fast they drank them, but not enough to be dangerous.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato smirked at the three blushing teens seated across the table from her. Each refused to make eye contact with anyone as they waited for the lecturing to begin.

"So, did the three of you have fun last night?" Misato asked with just a hint of a teasing tone in her voice. The trio blushed even darker as they recalled what had happened between them. "I can see you did. I expect my beer to be replaced. I'm glad you were all responsible about it and didn't leave the house. You could have gotten yourselves and me into a lot of trouble if you were caught drunk in public."

The teens were now looking at her in surprise.

"What? You expected me to read you the riot act about underage drinking?" Misato smirked. "Look, I don't mind if it happens on occasion as long as you do it here. You may be kids, but you all have very adult responsibilities. We send you out there into danger with a very real chance you could be hurt or worse. Just between us, I'm willing to cut you some slack from time to time to unwind in an adult fashion...as long as it doesn't affect your readiness. Which brings me to another point. While I'm certainly not in any position to complain about you three sleeping together, it would be a very bad thing if Asuka or Rei turned up pregnant. I don't think that would do anyone any good to have to explain how that happened."

"I..." Ranma stammered.

"We..." Asuka stuttered.

"That is why Ranma was in female form," Rei stated clinically before blushing heavily.

Misato grinned wickedly.

"Just be careful," Misato cautioned. "I'm all for you guys enjoying yourselves, but I know the temptation is there."

"You mean you don't mind?" Asuka asked in shock.

"Why should I mind?" Misato replied. "Who knows if we'll all survive this? We almost lost Ranma to that last angel. It's pretty obvious that you guys all care deeply for each other and I think you should experience as much joy as possible while you can."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji stood at the railing overlooking the school grounds. As he stared across the campus he heard the sound of footsteps approaching behind him.

"So you've decided to do it then?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah," Toji said distantly.

Ranma stepped up beside him and put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Look, Toji, I won't lie and tell you about how great it is," Ranma said. "Piloting an Eva in battle pretty much sucks. I just want you to know that Rei, Asuka, and I will do our best to keep anything from happening to you."

"Ranma..." Toji trailed off, pausing for a moment to gather himself. "I just wanted to apologize for trying to beat you up when you first got here. Now that I'm gonna be a pilot, I'm seeing things a little differently. I was wrong back then."

"Hey, no sweat, Toji," Ranma chuckled. "I understood at the time why you did it, and I really didn't blame you. I felt real bad about your sister."

"So you got any advice for the new guy?" Toji asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "Take Hikari out on a nice date tonight. Let her know she's special to you and enjoy yourself."

"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?" Toji asked.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Ranma snorted. "After all..."

"Ranma Ikari doesn't lose," Toji drawled.

"Right," Ranma smirked. "Remember, Hikari is just as worried as you are. Going out with her will help you both relax and take your mind off tomorrow."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So the fourth child is arriving tomorrow?" Misato asked Ritsuko as they prepared Unit 03 for its first activation test at the Matsushiro testing site.

"Yes," Ritsuko confirmed. "We'll be finished with the preliminary testing this evening. We'll be ready for him tomorrow when he arrives."

"Ritsuko, I..." Misato shook her head and trailed off.

"You've got a bad feeling about this too?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah," Misato said. "I don't know why, but I just have a feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong tomorrow."

"Me too," Ritsuko said, "but I checked Unit 03 out thoroughly and everything seems fine. We'll just have to hope for the best."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The restaurant was really nice. It was a traditional Japanese place complete with screens dividing each of its low tables for the privacy of the diners. The food was excellent and so was the service.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Toji," Hikari smiled. "This is a really classy place."

They were both dressed nicely in traditional kimono as they knelt on the cushions next to each other beside the table.

"You're worth it, Hikari," Toji smiled. "You know, a lot of people just think of me as a dumb jock, and I guess they're mostly right. It took me a long time to see you were interested in me and realize that we were dating. Hikari, I just wanted you to know that whatever happens, I c-care about you a-a lot. You're better than I deserve."

"Oh Toji," Hikari said, looking up at him with glistening eyes. "I care about you very much too, so you better take care of yourself. I'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

Toji looked down into his girlfriend's shimmering eyes and slowly his head dipped closer to hers. She smiled and turned her face up, giving him the invitation. They moved closer, closing their eyes...and awkwardly bumped noses. Hikari giggled and cocked her head a little. This time, they tenderly brushed their lips together in their first kiss. It lasted only a minute, but both teens were giddy with happiness and pleasure when they pulled away.

Toji walked Hikari home that night hand in hand. They shared another kiss, this one more passionate and less awkward, at her door before she stepped inside.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Nabiki sniffled a little as she rewound the tape. Everyone was looking at her strangely. It wasn't often that the Ice Queen showed any emotion other than avarice.

"What's wrong, Little Sister?" Kasumi asked.

"It's just that, in the original story, Toji's Eva was possessed by an angel," Nabiki said. "Shinji, the character that Ranma replaced, refused to fight the Eva so that bastard Gendo engaged a thing called the Dummy plug which took control and tore Toji's Eva apart while Shinji had to watch without being able to do anything. Toji was nearly killed when the Dummy Plug crushed the entry plug. He ended up losing an arm and a leg. Ranma knows what's going to happen and he knows that he may have to watch as his friend is maimed while he watches powerlessly."

"Ranma won't let that happen," Akane said with certainty. "He'll figure out some way to save Toji, I just know it."

Everyone gaped at Akane and her confidence in Ranma.

Discussion then turned to the fact that Ranma had, in fact, done the deed with Rei and Asuka, albeit in girl form. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this from the fiancées and fathers but Nabiki and Kasumi seemed happy for Ranma. Nodoka once again found herself conflicted between whipping out her victory fans or being upset that Ranma had been intimate as a girl.

Cologne smiled as she noted that while Akane was upset about Ranma having slept with the two girls as a girl, she refrained from calling him a pervert. Also, it was foremost in her mind the little discussion that Ranma had with the Goddess Bastet.

"Well, at least we know a little more about how this happened to Ranma," Cologne spoke, focusing all attention on her.

"What do you mean, Elder?" Kasumi asked.

"For some reason, Bastet-sama has sent Ranma there to learn some things," Cologne said. "While she never said one way or the other, she seemed to indicate that he would be returning if he managed to survive. I expect when he does return we will be facing a much different Ranma, someone that is not only more mature, but also a blooded warrior. I also suspect that we are being allowed to watch his adventures as a warning not to trifle with him as we have in the past."

"Isn't that rather cruel of the Goddess?" Kasumi asked. "If Ranma returns, won't he be heartbroken having to leave Rei and Asuka behind?"

"The lessons taught by the Gods are often cruel," Cologne nodded sagely. "One thing is clear. I very much doubt he will tolerate the treatment he had been subjected to before he went there."

Nearly everyone couldn't help but agree with that. The various girls were modifying their plans to catch the pigtailed boy on the rebound. The fathers, of course, ignored the fact that Ranma would be a much more dangerous person upon his return and began to plan another surprise wedding as soon as the honorless boy returned.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	13. Chapter 13

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

AN: _I guess I need to address a couple of points that have been raised about how the story is progressing. First, yeah, I did deliberately skip the 10th and 11th angels. I couldn't see Ranma affecting the outcome of those events and I really didn't want to rehash the NGE story any more than I already am. I meant to mention that they had appeared and were dealt with, but I wasn't able to work it in. Sorry, my bad. _

_Another point that was mentioned was that Ranma didn't seem to be changing the last couple of events much with his foreknowledge. There are three reasons for this. One, Ranma has to keep this knowledge close to the vest to prevent Gendo and SEELE from becoming suspicious. Two, Ranma realizes that he can't change things to a great extent just yet or his foreknowledge will become useless. Therefore, he's operating under the premise of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' The third reason is simply because, as was stated earlier, if events are given half a chance to happen the same way, they most likely will. This will begin to change soon, starting with this chapter._

_Once again, thanks for reading and all the wonderful reviews!_

**Chapter 13**

The following afternoon, the group gathered together to view the fourth tape. The fiancées were at once both lighter-hearted at the prospect of Ranma getting to return, and depressed over the fact that Ranma had not only fallen in love with the two female characters in the show, but had also been intimate with them.

Cologne and Nodoka were anxiously waiting to see the story through to the end. They had both picked up on the fact that Bastet had said that Ranma could very well die before it was over. The others ignored that bit of information as it was, to them, inconceivable. Ranma didn't lose after all.

After everyone settled down, Nabiki started the tape.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma awoke once again sandwiched between Rei and Asuka. While ostensibly he still had his own room, the three had continued to sleep together because they found it kept the nightmares at bay, letting them get a better night's sleep.

The pigtailed martial artist carefully worked his way free of the two sleeping girls who moaned in protest at the loss of warmth. He smiled as he watched them move together, cuddling up to each other as he made his way to the furoba to begin his morning.

In his head he was working on trying to figure out how he was going to save Toji later today. While Rei and Asuka were certainly far better pilots than they had been in the original series at this time, he knew that taking the angel on one at a time would be impossible if they wanted to save the pilot. No, it was going to take a team effort.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"The Fourth Child has arrived, Ma'am," one of the Matsushiro techs informed Ritsuko and Misato as they sat in the cafeteria drinking coffee.

"Alright, get him suited up and ready for the activation test," Ritsuko said. "We'll be up in the control room momentarily."

"Yes, Ma'am," the tech said.

"Well, I guess this is it," Misato said nervously.

"Really, Misato, you would think you'd be more excited," Ritsuko teased. "When the activation tests are complete, Unit 03 will be assigned to your command. You'll be getting a lot of responsibility."

"Yeah, with four Eva's under someone's command they could like...take over the world or something," Misato laughed weakly.

Ritsuko grimaced at this, knowing what she did about Gendo's plans.

"Still have a bad feeling?" Ritsuko asked as they headed for the control room.

Misato nodded.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji admired his black plug suit in the mirror of the locker room. He looked better than Ranma, he concluded with a wry grin. He wondered how Hikari would react seeing him like this. He grinned at the thought, but he was interrupted by a tech coming in.

"Let's go, Kid, it's time," the tech said.

Toji followed the tech out to a platform where his control chair was waiting. Climbing into his chair, he gave the tech a thumbs-up and the chair was raised up and inserted in the entry plug. Once the plug was sealed, Toji was left to wait in the dim emergency lighting inside the plug.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Up in the control room, Ritsuko gave the order to insert the entry plug. As the nerve connections began to appear on the status board everyone held their collective breath as the indicators approached the activation threshold. The last light before the threshold mark flickered dramatically before it illuminated, followed by the next one, which would indicate a successful activation.

However, as soon as the threshold was reached, alarms began to sound. Ritsuko immediately ordered the Eva be shut down, but the techs reported that the Eva wasn't responding. They watched in horror as the Eva thrashed about in its cage.

"Eject the entry plug!" Ritsuko commanded.

"Ma'am, we can't. It's stuck," the tech reported after attempting to eject the plug.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

A huge pillar of smoke and flame rocketed into the air from the direction of the Matsushiro test site. People back at the NERV command center were working feverishly to figure out what was going on as Gendo Ikari sat impassively from his position overlooking the command center.

"Sir, we have a Pattern Orange detected," a tech reported. "We cannot confirm an angel."

"Get me a video feed from Matsushiro," Gendo ordered.

A window opened on the giant display screen. It showed a view of the hills in the Matsushiro area. As the people in NERV control watched, a black shape lumbered into view.

"It's an Eva!" one of the techs gasped. "It's Unit 03!"

"Shut it down," Gendo ordered.

"Sir, it's not responding!" Hyuga reported.

"What is the status of the pilot?" Gendo asked.

"We are receiving life signs but..." Hyuga trailed off with a shrug.

"Eject the entry plug," Gendo said.

"It's no good, Sir, the plug seems to be stuck!" Hyuga said after trying.

"Very well," Gendo said. "Reclassify Unit 03 as the thirteenth angel and deploy units 00 through 02."

Everyone in the control room gasped.

"But Sir, what about the pilot?" Hyuga asked.

"The angel must be stopped or we will all die," Gendo said.

"Yes Sir," Hyuga said glumly. "Preparing Eva's for air lift to Matsushiro."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Okay, listen up, girls," Ranma said over the comm. "We know that Unit 03 was possessed by an angel. My priority is to rescue Toji and then destroy the angel."

"Your priority is to destroy the angel," Gendo cut in.

"Shut up, you ole geezer, if I wanted your opinion I'd beat it out of you," Ranma snarled. "That's my friend in there and I WILL get him out before we take that angel down. Okay, Asuka, Rei, here's the plan..."

Ranma explained the plan he had come up with while Gendo was raging internally at Ranma's impertinence.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma was standing in the middle of the street with his Eva's arms crossed over its chest when the possessed Eva lumbered into view. It sighted him and paused for a moment before leaping into the air to close the distance with a roar.

The angel landed just out of reach before Ranma. Its arms shot out toward Ranma, elongating grotesquely in an effort to grab Unit 01. Ranma, far from surprised by this, grabbed the outstretched arms by the wrists.

The plan was for Rei to go in low and take the angel's legs out from under it, but they hadn't anticipated the strength of the angel. Ranma found himself smashed into a building. Still he maintained his grip.

"Rei, grab an arm," Ranma gasped as he was slammed into another building. "It's too strong for me to hold both its arms, but one of us on each might be able to hold it steady!"

"Roger," Rei said, moving in and grasping one of the arms.

"Okay, we've got it, move in now, Asuka!" Ranma commanded.

The red Eva came charging around the corner behind the angel.

"On my way," Asuka announced.

It was then that Rei started screaming. Ranma looked over and could see what appeared to be veins spreading up the arms of Rei's Eva and cursed. He had forgotten about the contamination thing, which was why he had originally wanted Rei to take the legs in hopes that she could avoid that problem.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Back at NERV Control, a tech reported that Unit 00 had nerve contamination spreading up both arms.

"Jettison Unit 00's arms," Gendo commanded coolly.

"But Sir, the nerve connections are still active," Hyuga said, aghast.

"Do it now!" Gendo snapped.

"Yes Sir!"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei screamed louder as explosive charges severed both Unit 00's arms. Her back arched as she futilely clutched her shoulders and sobbed in pain. Unit 00 staggered backward and collapsed.

With its now free arm, the angel punched Ranma's Eva in the head, causing him to lose his grip and go flying into a building just as Asuka reached out and got a grip on the entry plug.

"I've got the plug!" the redhead announced as Ranma dug himself out of the building.

Unit 01 got to its feet just in time to see the angel reach back behind it and grab Unit 02 by the head. With a heave, the red Eva went flying. Asuka screamed but she somehow managed to keep her grip on Toji's entry plug and rip it out as she was thrown.

As Asuka curled up around the entry plug to protect it from the coming impact, Ranma charged the angel. He was brought up short when the overly long arms of the angel managed to move around impossibly fast and grab the midnight blue and green Eva around the neck. Ranma quickly found himself pinned against the side of a near by hill as his Eva, and himself by extension, was being choked to death. He struggled to free himself but the angel was too strong. He just couldn't break the angel's grip.

The pigtailed pilot was fighting to gather himself for a ki blast when suddenly the chisel tip of a prog-katana appeared extending several meters out of the angel's chest. Its grip on Unit 01's throat failed and its arms fell away limply. Then the angel's body collapsed to the ground, revealing Unit 02 standing behind it, the hilt of the katana still in its grip.

"You alright, Ranma?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah," Ranma coughed out. "Thanks, Asuka. How's Toji and Rei?"

"I don't know," Asuka said. "The entry plug is okay, but I'm not sure how badly the bouncing around hurt Toji inside it. I think Rei is unconscious because I haven't been able to raise her on the comm."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Misato groaned as she awoke. She lay there and listened to the cacophony of urgent voices around her as medical personnel treated the injured. Slowly opening her eyes, she blinked away the blurriness and looked around the room at the busy medics.

"You're a very lucky girl, Misato," a familiar voice said.

"Kaji? How's Ritsuko?" Misato asked weakly.

"Ritsuko wasn't hurt as badly as you," Kaji answered.

"The Eva...?" Misato asked.

"Destroyed," Kaji answered.

"What about the pilot?" Misato asked.

"Ranma and the girls managed to get the entry plug out before they destroyed it. Recovery teams are at the site now," Kaji gave Misato a reassuring smile. "Rest now, Misato."

Misato nodded faintly and drifted back to sleep.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Recovery teams arrived at the site of the battle and began to extract the two downed pilots from their entry plugs under the watchful eyes of two anxious Eva pilots.

"Man this kid's a mess," on of the medics commented as they carefully removed the battered form of Toji from the entry plug.

"How bad is he?" Ranma demanded.

"He'll live," the medic answered. "He's going to be in traction for a while though. We'll know more once we get him to the infirmary and get some x-rays."

"What about Rei?" Asuka asked.

"She's physically fine," the medic informed them. "She's in shock from the pain of having her Eva's arms severed while the nerve connections were still active. She should be okay though."

Asuka hugged Ranma in relief and Ranma held her tightly.

"You did real good, Asuka," Ranma said stroking her hair. "You saved both me and Toji. I'm proud of you."

"You really mean it?" Asuka asked.

"I sure do, Koi," Ranma smiled, giving her a squeeze.

Ranma looked up to see that he and Asuka had been surrounded by NERV security.

"Ranma Ikari," the security goon stated, "I have to ask you to come with us."

"What do you mean he has to come with you?" Asuka demanded, whirling on him with her hands on her hips and glaring aggressively.

"The Commander ordered us to take him into custody," the man answered.

"It's okay, Asuka-chan," Ranma smirked. "The old fart's just posturin' for his underlings. He ain't gonna do nothin'. You go with Rei and make sure she's alright. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure, Ranma?" Asuka said, still glaring at the man.

"Yeah, Koi, I'll be fine," Ranma said reassuringly.

Ranma let himself be handcuffed and lead away while Asuka looked on.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Your report, Dr. Akagi," Gendo said from his position behind his hands.

"Eva Unit 03 is a complete write off. The core was destroyed and there's no trace of the angel that possessed it," Ritsuko explained. "Unit 03's pilot is in the infirmary with two broken legs, a broken arm, and a fractured skull, as well as numerous other contusions and lacerations. Thankfully, we expect him to make a full recovery. Unit 00 is not combat effective having lost both arms. Repairs are expected to take a while. Rei is recovering from the shock. Units 01 and 02 suffered minor damage and are 100 percent combat effective."

"Very well," Gendo said, dismissing Ritsuko.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji awoke to a world of pain. His whole body hurt. He looked around the room and saw Asuka sitting next to another bed and its blue-haired occupant.

"Ayanami?" Toji said weakly. "Sohryu? What happened?"

"You're awake!" Asuka smiled. "I'm glad. Your Eva was possessed by an angel. We had to take it down. I managed to get your entry plug out first though. Sorry about the beating you took. The angel kind of threw me while I was removing your entry plug. I tried to protect you as much as possible, but I guess it was still a pretty rough ride."

"Y-you saved me?" Toji asked weakly.

"Yup," Asuka said proudly. "It was kind of a team effort. Rei and Ranma held the angel still long enough for me to grab your entry plug but before I could get the plug out, something happened to Rei and they had to jettison her Eva's arms. I guess the angel was trying to possess her too. Ranma couldn't hold the angel all by himself and got slammed into a building. That's when I got thrown just as I got you out. Once you were clear, Ranma and I took the angel out. I'm afraid your Eva was destroyed though."

"It's okay," Toji said. "I didn't...want...to...be...a...pilot...anyway..."

He trailed back off to sleep.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma was sitting in a cell relaxing when the guard opened the door.

"Ranma Ikari, the Commander wants to see you," the man said.

Ranma stood and allowed the guard to put the handcuffs on him. He had to smirk, knowing that the cuffs were less than useless if they really thought they would restrain him. The guard then led him to Gendo's office and Ranma walked in.

"Yo, Pop, what'cha want?" Ranma said cheerfully.

Gendo glared at him from over his hands for a while. Ranma just stood there smirking.

"Your insolence will no longer be tolerated, Third Child," Gendo intoned.

"Is that so?" Ranma chuckled. "Well, any time you think you don't need me anymore, you just say the word and I'm out of here. Otherwise, just get used to it. I said when I came here I was going to bust your balls every chance I got. In fact, you're lucky I don't dislocate your arms for what you did to Rei, you sadistic waste of skin."

"You're in no position to be making threats," Gendo stated.

"Ya think?" Ranma grinned, flexing his wrists.

The handcuffs shattered under the stress Ranma put on them, shrapnel-like pieces clattering to the floor across the room. Ranma crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Gendo smugly.

"Ya know, it seems to me that I could rip you apart before you could even call for help," Ranma said casually.

"I can have you shot for insubordination," Gendo replied.

"Good luck with that," Ranma shrugged. "It's not like I'm gonna hold still for it. Besides, you and I both know you still need me for whatever world-domination plot you got going on. When this is over, I fully expect you'll have me 'removed'. Until then, stay out of my way and let me do my job. It'll be healthier for you. Later, Pop."

Ranma turned on his heel and strode out of the office. The guard poked his head in the office and looked at Gendo askance. Gendo sighed and dismissed the guard. Obviously his cousin Genma failed miserably to break the boy. In spite of himself, Gendo couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in his son's strength of will. However, it was going to be a problem eventually. Until then, Gendo would just have to put up with the insolent boy's disrespect. When push came to shove, the boy would find that Gendo knew his weaknesses and had several levers on him. First and foremost being the Second Child the boy seemed to be growing so attached to.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Toji awoke again to the feeling of soft lips pressing against his. His eyes flickered open to see Hikari standing over him with a tearful smile.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Toji answered groggily. "How long?"

"You've been out for three days," Hikari answered. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry," Toji said. "Thanks for being here."

"Just try to keep me away," Hikari said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I went 12 rounds with Ranma," Toji said with a weak grin. "I'm just glad to be alive. I guess Asuka saved me. I'll never live that down."

"See, she's not as bad as you thought," Hikari giggled.

"I guess not," Toji admitted.

"Oh Toji, I'm so glad you're alive!" Hikari said suddenly, tears running down her face. "I just don't know what I would have done if I had lost you!"

"Hey, it's okay, Koi," Toji said, wiping away her tears with his good hand. "I'll be okay and Asuka said the Eva was destroyed so I won't have to be a pilot anymore."

"I'm so glad," Hikari said, pressing his palm to her face. "I don't know if I could handle watching you go off into battle with those horrible things. At least Ranma, Rei, and Asuka go out together."

"How is Ayanami? She was in here before," Toji asked.

"She's fine," Hikari said. "They let her out a couple of days ago."

"Yo, Toji," Ranma greeted. "Oh, hi, Hikari, should I come back later?"

"No, it's okay, Ranma," Hikari said, smiling.

"So how ya feelin' there, tough guy?" Ranma asked. "'Cause I ain't gonna lie to ya, ya look like shit."

"That's about how I feel," Toji agreed. "I'll live though."

"So they tell me," Ranma nodded. "They said you should make a full recovery. Sorry we couldn't get you out any more gently. Asuka was pretty great though. Not only did she get you out but she did her best to shield you from the worst of it when the angel tossed her like a rag doll."

"I still need to thank her for that," Toji said. "And thank you for your part in getting me out."

"Heh, no sweat, man," Ranma dismissed. "I promised I'd do everything in my power to keep ya safe. I just feel bad that you got as banged up as you did."

"At least I'm alive," Toji said. "It could have been worse."

"I guess," Ranma said, remembering how much worse it was in the original series. "Well, I just wanted to stop by and check on ya. I haven't had a chance before now because the ole' bastard had me coolin' my heels in a cell because I told him where to stick it. I gotta go check on the girls before they decide to mount a jailbreak or something. Take care, man."

"Sure, Ranma," Toji said. "See ya later."

"Count on it," Ranma smiled. "Later, Hikari. Take care of the big lug."

"Don't worry, Ranma. He's in good hands," Hikari said, smiling down at Toji.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I'm home," Ranma called out, only to find himself crushed under the weight of two Amazon-class glomps as Rei and Asuka cannonballed into him.

"It's about time you got out," Asuka chastised the wheezing Ranma. "We were just in the middle of planning how to spring you."

"I missed you," Rei said coolly.

"Air...must have...air," Ranma gasped.

"Oops, sorry," Asuka said sheepishly as she and Rei eased up on their grips.

Ranma sucked in a huge amount of air and his color returned to normal.

"I missed you guys too," Ranma panted before turning his attention to Rei. "Rei-chan are you alright?" he asked with concern.

"I am well," Rei said, giving him a small smile.

"Good, I was really worried about you," Ranma said hugging the blue-haired girl. "I love you guys and I hate seeing you hurt."

"Are you hungry?" Asuka asked, causing Ranma to look at her with an incredulous expression. "Oh, right, of course you're hungry. I'll make you something."

"Thanks," Ranma smiled as he and Rei followed her into the kitchen. "Ya know you guys didn't have to worry about springin' me, right? I mean I could have left anytime I wanted to. I just figured it'd be easier to play along until the old man figured he made his point."

"We were suffering from withdrawal," Asuka joked. "We needed our Ranma fix or bad things were gonna happen."

Ranma chuckled.

"I stopped by and saw Toji," Ranma mentioned. "He was awake and Hikari was with him."

"He was awake? How was he feeling?" Asuka asked. She was feeling a little guilty that he was as banged up as he was.

"He's okay," Ranma said. "I didn't stay long. I didn't wanna intrude on them. They're getting' nearly as bad as us."

As if to make the point, Ranma ruffled Rei's hair and kissed her on the forehead. Rei blushed and practically purred at the affection.

"I'm home!" Misato called out as she came in.

A minute later she came in the kitchen to grab a beer. The Major was looking somewhat worse for wear. She was sporting a bandage on her head and her left arm was in a sling.

"Hey, Misato, how are you feeling? I heard you got pretty banged up," Ranma said.

"I'm okay," Misato said. "Nothing a beer or twelve won't take care of. It looks worse than it is. But if you want to nurse me back to health, you won't hear me complain."

Misato grinned at Ranma suggestively.

"Hey, step off, Floozy," Asuka chimed in with a giggle. "You've got your own man to handle any nursing you need."

"True, true," Misato smirked. "But yours is so much better, especially with those rubdowns he gives."

"Well, you have a point there," Asuka said. "Maybe if you're really nice to Rei and I, we _might_ loan him out to you for an hour or so."

"Hey! I'm right here ya know," Ranma protested.

"Yes, you are, Liebling," Asuka said kissing him on the cheek. "Now go sit down at the table and I'll bring your sandwiches out to you. Would you like something, Misato?"

"I'm good, Asuka-chan," Misato said, holding up her beer. "I must say, you're getting quite domestic, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not as if Ranma doesn't cook for us all the time," Asuka said. "Besides, it's nice to take care of the man I love."

"Kaji would just act like it was to be expected if I did it for him," Misato snorted.

"Kaji would probably run screaming if you tried to cook for him, Misato," Ranma called out from the other room.

Misato's eyebrow twitched and she growled at him.

"Ranma, that wasn't very nice," Asuka chastised. "Probably true, but not very nice."

Misato stood there fuming, eyebrow twitching like mad. Ranma and Asuka both laughed at her.

"We're just kidding you, Misato," Ranma said as he tucked into the heaping tray of sandwiches Asuka put down in front of him. "This is good, Asuka, thanks," Ranma said between bites.

Asuka glowed under the praise.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

That night, as the trio lay snuggled up to each other, Ranma brought up what had happened to Rei.

"Rei, what happened with that angel?" he asked.

"I do not know," Rei answered. "It felt like the angel was trying to force its way into me through Unit 00. It was very unpleasant. I could feel it's AT field forcing its way into mine."

"Hmm," Ranma said thoughtfully. "I think we need to work on somethin' you can try in case it happens again. Maybe it works both ways."

Rei nodded and snuggled tighter to Ranma.

"I would like that," Rei said. "I didn't know what to do and I was scared."

"It's okay, Koi," Ranma said, rubbing her back. "We'll figure something out in case it happens again. It'll give you something to work on while Unit 00 is down for repair."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hiya, Kaji," Ranma said as he walked down the nature trail inside the geofront.

"Hello, Ranma," Kaji said. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," Ranma said. "So, you're just hanging out watering your melons?"

"Not much else to do now that my official cover has been blown," Kaji answered.

"Bummer, that," Ranma nodded companionably.

"Maybe I can help you," Ranma said.

"How do you propose to do that?" Kaji asked casually.

"Uh uh," Ranma grinned and waved a finger at him. "First I need to know where your loyalties lie."

"Where do your loyalties lie, Ranma?" Kaji asked.

"Not with Pop or SEELE," Ranma said taking a chance. "My loyalties lie with the people of Earth that will die if the Third Impact were to occur."

"Commendable position," Kaji said. "One I would like to believe I share with you."

"Fair enough," Ranma agreed. "Mind you, I can tell if you lie to me. So who do you work for really? The JSDF?"

"Not at all," Kaji lied, causing Ranma to grin briefly. "I don't work for anyone at the moment. It seems neither of my employers trust me at the moment."

"I thought as much," Ranma said. "So tell me, what would you like to know? I know a little more about things than people suspect."

"So what is your father planning?" Kaji asked.

"Ascension," Ranma said. "He wants to be a god and he thinks that if he controls the Third Impact he can achieve this."

"Why?" Kaji asked.

"He thinks if he's a god then he can bring Yui Ikari back again," Ranma stated.

"And you're not with him on this? You wouldn't like to have your mother back?" Kaji questioned.

"Not at the expense of everyone else on the planet and not on a world rewritten according to Gendo Ikari," Ranma denied. "SEELE, on the other hand, wants to force mankind to the next step up the evolutionary ladder. They believe that the human race has reached its peak and is stagnating."

"How do you know this?" Kaji asked.

Ranma looked at him with a rueful grin.

"Let's just say I've seen the future," Ranma said enigmatically. "It wasn't pretty and I intend to change it."

Kaji blinked at him.

"You realize that sounds crazy," Kaji said. "It puts everything you are telling me in doubt."

"Yeah, I realize that," Ranma nodded. "I can give you proof if you like. For instance, I know what each of the next angels will be."

"Alright, I'll bite," Kaji said. "Tell me about them."

"The next angel will be stocky like a giant bulldog, with paper like arms that fold up like an accordion," Ranma explained. "The arms will be extremely dangerous, able to slice through an Eva's limbs easily."

"Okay, go on," Kaji said.

"The fifteenth angel will attack from orbit with some sort of mind-beam that will release the horrors inside the victim's mind and drive them nuts," Ranma informed. "We won't have anything that can reach it until one of the Evas, most likely Rei, is sent to get the Lance of Longinus from Terminal Dogma. The lance will take the angel out but we won't have a way to get it back. The sixteenth angel will resemble a glowing double helix, like a strand of DNA. The Seventeenth will be an Eva pilot sent here by SEELE. The last angel will be SEELE forces when they try to overrun the NERV facility here to wrest control of the Third Impact from Gendo. They will attack with UN elite forces and nine Evas controlled by dummy plugs with the Eva pilot angel's imprints."

"Alright," Kaji said, looking at Ranma dubiously. "I guess it will be easy enough to figure out if you're nuts when the next angel comes. So how is the Third Impact going to be brought about?"

"You delivered the key to Gendo yourself," Ranma said. "He plans to use Adam and Lilith with Rei as the control since he believes she is completely loyal to him and will follow his every order. I don't intend to let him do that. However, there's a lot of things that could go wrong."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kaji asked.

"Because if we are going to stop the Third Impact, I'm going to need your help and that of the JSDF," Ranma said. "I'm pretty sure I can handle Gendo, but I need help with the forces SEELE will be sending to capture this place. NERV is a fortress as far as angels are concerned, but it wasn't designed to stop a military invasion. NERV security forces aren't equipped to hold them off either."

"What about the Evas?" Kaji asked. "The JSDF can't fight against those."

"Asuka, Rei, and I will handle them," Ranma said. "Asuka will have to hold them off until Rei and I handle Gendo, then we'll come up and reinforce her. If we don't come up, then the world is screwed anyway."

"Who else knows about this?" Kaji probed.

"Basically you and me," Ranma admitted. "Dr. Akagi, I'm not sure of. I know she was loyal to Gendo for a while and knows some of Gendo's plans, but I've been slowly working on her, hopefully to see him for what he is. I don't know if I've gotten through to her or not. I don't know if I can trust Misato. You would know that better than me. I know she's in this for the right reasons, but I don't know how she could help. I haven't said anything to the girls yet, but I know they'll follow my lead." Ranma looked away for a minute. "I love them Kaji, and they love me. I..." Ranma trailed off.

"You're worried about them, aren't you?" Kaji finished.

"I...yes, I am. They both run a good chance that I will lose them," Ranma said morosely. "I hadn't counted on falling in love. I wanted to befriend them, but it grew far beyond that."

Kaji put his hand on Ranma's shoulder reassuringly. Ranma sniffed and visibly pulled himself together.

"I know there's a good chance they'll be hurt badly before this is over," Ranma said grimly. "Especially Asuka. I'm training them as well as possible, but, like I said; so much can go wrong."

"I don't know what to say, Ranma," Kaji said. "I'll be watching for the next angel. If it's like you say, I'll pass the info along with my endorsement as coming from a credible source. Do you have a time frame?"

"No," Ranma answered. "I know the sequence of events, but not the timeframe. I imagine the next angel will attack soon, but as far as the final events, I just don't know how much time we have. I suggest you urge them to make the decision on whether or not to support me as soon as possible."

"If it turns out like you say, I'll be in touch," Kaji said.

"Good," Ranma said. "I'll be waiting to hear from you. For now, I'm gonna go find the girls. In spite of all the life and death situations, when I'm with them, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I wanna have as much time as possible with them in case I lose them. I want to treasure every moment I can."

"I understand," Kaji said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Ranma said as he walked off.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

There were very few dry eyes in the room when Nabiki stopped the tape. Ranma's heartfelt confession to Kaji of the pain he was in knowing that he would probably lose Rei and Asuka was heartbreaking. Even Cologne's eyes glistened with tears.

Several of the women in the room were surprised to find themselves wishing that Ranma could stay with the girls he loved. Of course, the fiancées weren't counted in that group, but it was a near thing.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	14. Chapter 14

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 14**

Nabiki was just about to start the video when an unwelcome guest crashed in. The bone-chilling laugh immediately allowed them to identify who it was.

"So, all of the low-born harridans who futilely pursue my darling Ranma have gathered together to gloat of your treachery," the leotard-clad lunatic proclaimed. "I demand to know where you are hiding my Ranma at once!"

Nabiki sighed as a four-way battle ensued between the fiancées and the delusional nut job. They would have to wait for the mentally infirm to be run off before continuing.

"Who was that?" Nodoka asked.

"Kodachi Kuno," Nabiki answered. "She's the sister of Tatewaki Kuno and fancies herself in the running for Ranma's affections. However, she's as delusional as her older brother and wants to kill Ranma's girl side, while wanting to date Ranma's boy side. Her brother is worse. He wants to date Ranma's girl side _and_ Akane at the same time while accusing Ranma's boy side of being a foul sorcerer that holds his loves in thrall. Neither of them realizes that boy-type Ranma and girl-type Ranma are the same person in spite of seeing the change happen on several occasions. The Kuno family is both filthy rich and certifiably crazy and Ranma wants nothing to do with either of them."

"Indeed?" Nodoka asked, shaking her head in dismay.

Shortly afterward, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Akane returned and they began the next episode.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Alarm klaxons began to sound in the Central Dogma control center. Techs immediately began typing furiously on their terminals as they worked to determine the situation.

"Report," Gendo Ikari said calmly from behind his steepled hands in his command balcony.

"Sir, we have a pattern blue incoming. It's already breached the outer defenses," Aoba reported.

Just then, the angel fired a beam of some kind, causing a huge cross-shaped explosion.

"Oh my god!" Hyuga exclaimed. "It just penetrated 18 layers of armor in one shot!"

"We'll never get the Eva's to the surface to engage it in time," Misato declared. "Have Unit's 01 and 02 deployed inside the geofront."

"Yes, Ma'am," Hyuga acknowledged.

Behind his hands, Gendo grinned evilly. It was time the boy was taken down a few pegs. Glancing down at a button on his terminal, he would wait until the time was right to initiate his plan.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Gendo?" Fuyutsuki asked quietly. "What if the boy freezes up? That will leave the Second Child out there alone with no backup."

"Or it could make the boy even more effective," Gendo pointed out. "Anyway, I need to see the effect it has and it may give me more control of the boy. God knows we have precious little of that at the moment. That fool, Genma, managed to give him a serious disregard for authority."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Are you ready for this, Variable-chan?" Asuka asked, taking a few practice swipes with her naginata and checking that her spears were within easy reach.

"You know it," Ranma said. "Asuka...be careful. I got a bad feeling about this one."

"You worry too much, Liebling," Asuka said. "We can handle it."

"I know, but this angel feels really strong," Ranma cautioned. "Please just be careful."

"Okay, if it will make you feel better," Asuka said.

Any further discussion was cut off by an explosion from the ceiling of the geofront, followed by what looked like a cross between a headless Pillsbury doughboy and an English bulldog, only three times as ugly, floating down through the hole.

"Engaging target," Asuka announced and let fly with a spear.

The oversized spear flew true towards the angel and looked like it was going to score a direct hit. However at the last second, it slammed into a really strong AT field and was stopped dead. Ranma and Asuka both began launching spears at the angel in an effort to overwhelm its AT field as it drifted to the floor of the Geo-front. The effort seemed futile as the thing reached the ground unscathed.

Suddenly, Asuka heard Ranma scream over the comm and saw Unit 01 fall to the ground in fetal position with its arms over its head.

"Ranma!" Asuka yelled urgently. "Ranma what's wrong?"

Asuka was caught up in what was happening to Ranma and failed to notice the angel's arms unfold like accordion paper. The angel lashed out at her. Fortunately, Ranma's training held. Asuka sensed the attack just in time to twist her torso, causing the angel's arms to pass to either side of her. Had she not twisted, they would have sliced off her arms.

She wasn't out of the woods yet though because the flat, paper-like arms swiftly curled around her Eva and threw Unit 02 across the geofront, crashing through trees and structures as Asuka screamed.

When she finally came to a stop, she heard...a cat?

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Dr. Akagi! Ranma's sync ratio is fluctuating wildly!" Maya called out from her monitor. "His brain waves are completely erratic! Heart rate is racing!"

"What's causing it? Is the angel attacking him somehow?" Ritsuko demanded.

"I don't know, Ma'am, but his sync ratio appears to be spiking incredibly high!" Maya announced.

Up on the command balcony, Gendo removed his finger from the button and grinned wickedly.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Fuyutsuki said softly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma had thrown his last spear as the angel settled to the ground. Suddenly, his view was filled with the most terrifying sight imaginable. Horrible demons were attacking him, frothing and spitting at him from all sides with gleaming fangs and razor sharp claws.

Ranma screamed in terror and curled up into a ball, unable to escape the onslaught as the demons tore into his flesh just like they did back in the pit. Finally, the terror became too much and Ranma's world went dark.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka struggled to get to her feet just in time to see Ranma's Eva get up on all fours with its back arched unnaturally. It appeared to be hissing and growling like a cat as it faced off with the angel. She could do nothing but watch in shock as the strange scene unfolded before her.

The angel lashed out its arms at the oddly behaving Eva only to have the Eva bounce away from the attack with a disturbing nimbleness. The Eva then batted a hand at the ribbon-like arm closest to it and a length of the arm fell away, sliced off cleanly. Sensing a new level of threat, the angel began to flail about wildly as Unit 01 bounced around the area like some mad superball.

The Eva's evasions carried it steadily closer to the flailing angel and soon huge gashes began to open up on the angel's body. It tried to fire its energy beam at Unit 01, but the Eva was far too fast to be hit like that. The Eva just continued to bounce around and slash at the angel with half-seen reddish claws that appeared to be made from its AT field.

It quickly became clear to Asuka that the cat-like Eva was toying with the angel, like a cat does with a mouse. Soon the angel was covered in shallow gashes and streaked red with its own blood. Its ribbon arms were ragged shreds as it struggled to regenerate itself.

It was then that the Eva tired of its game and moved in for the kill. The end came swiftly as the AT claws gutted the angel and knocked it to the ground. It was an anti-climax compared to what came afterwards.

Asuka felt like vomiting as the Eva began to eat the angel.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

There were several faces tinged with green in the control center and several of the techs turned away from the grisly scene.

"I-it's eating the angel?" Misato asked in dismay.

"She's taking the angel's S2 organ into herself," Ritsuko said.

"My god," Maya gasped. "Ranma's sync ratio is over 400 percent!"

As the various parties looked on, the Eva finished eating and sat back on its haunches, roaring its dominance over its domain. Feeling restrained, it began clawing at the armor plates covering it, causing huge slabs of the stuff to fall away.

"My god, she's breaking free," Ritsuko whispered.

"Breaking free? What do you mean?" Misato asked.

"That's not just armor," Ritsuko said. "Those are restraints that allow us to control the Eva."

Unit 01 roared once again and then paused as if sniffing the air. Looking around it spotted Unit 02 standing some distance away. With a roar, it bounded toward the red Eva.

"Oh my god! Asuka!" Misato shouted in panic.

The red Eva stood frozen as Unit 01 barreled into it knocking it on its butt. What happened then would have been comical if it hadn't been so bizarre. Unit 01 appeared to nuzzle Unit 02's face before curling up in an impossibly small ball on Unit 02's legs and settling down like a cat in a persons lap.

"Asuka, are you okay?" Misato called.

"I-I think its p-purring," Asuka reported, obviously shaken and confused about what was happening. "I-is Ranma okay?"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Several hours later, Unit 01 was back in its cage, swathed in huge bandages that were more necessary to cover the true nature of the Eva than for any injury. As yet, they hadn't been able to get the entry plug out and the techs were working hard to reestablish communication with the Eva's systems.

"I've got video from the inside of the entry plug, Ma'am," a tech reported to Ritsuko.

"Let's take a look," Ritsuko instructed.

A window opened up on the large monitor in front of them. It showed a scene that made everyone gasp. In the dim red emergency lighting of the entry plug, an empty plug suit floated in the LCL.

"Dr. Akagi, what does it mean?" Maya asked.

"I was afraid of something like this," Ritsuko sighed. "This isn't the first time this has happened when the sync ratio has gone over 400 percent."

"You mean this has happened before?" Maya gasped. "How did they get the pilot back?"

"They didn't," Ritsuko said softly. "Yui Ikari is still in there somewhere, part of Unit 01."

"You mean, we've lost Ranma?" Maya asked, stunned by the revelation.

"I didn't say that," Ritsuko said. "They weren't able to get the other pilot back, but I have all their data to work with and I _will_ get Ranma back."

"O-okay, but I sure don't envy you having to tell Asuka and Misato about this," Maya said.

Ritsuko put her face in her hands and groaned tiredly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"WHAT!" Asuka shrieked. "He can't be missing! He just can't be! Do you hear me? Ranma is _not_ missing!"

Ritsuko sighed. This was going to be as bad as she expected. Then she blinked in surprise as two slim hands grabbed hold of the lapels of her lab coat and she found herself pulled eye to crimson eye with the last person she expected to freak out about this.

"You will get my Ranma back, Dr. Akagi," Rei said in a glacial voice that sent chills down Ritsuko's spine. "Am I making myself clear? Failure is not an option. Is that understood?"

Ritsuko was shocked at the cold certainty in the petite, blue-haired girl's voice. She was amazed at how intimidated she was by the teen. Wisely, she nodded emphatically.

"Rei, it's not Ritsuko's fault," Misato said. "Put her down. I'm sure she will work as hard as possible to get Ranma back. He was...is her friend too. _Right_, Ritsuko?"

'Geez, even Misato sounds menacing,' Ritsuko thought to herself as Rei released her before resuming her position beside Asuka and pulling the now crying redhead into a comforting hug.

"That's right, Misato," Ritsuko said. "I know you all care for Ranma. I do too. I will get him back. I promise."

"So how did this happen, Ritsuko? What happened to Ranma that started this whole thing?" Misato asked.

"What I'm about to tell you goes no further than us," Ritsuko said seriously. "You have to promise me none of you will take any action on what you're about to hear. I mean it. If you do anything out of the ordinary, we may never get Ranma back. Understood?"

Ritsuko was clearly very serious and also very angry. The three other women nodded in agreement.

"I managed to retrieve the data recorder from the fight," Ritsuko said. "Someone apparently induced the Nekoken during the battle."

Misato and Asuka gasped.

"Someone?" Rei asked dispassionately.

"I began to dig into the computers," Ritsuko said. "He was good at covering his tracks, but not as good as I am. Luckily, he trusts me enough that he assumed I wouldn't have an issue with it."

"Who did it?" Misato growled.

"It was Commander Ikari," Ritsuko stated. "He sent a signal during the battle that activated the program. Ranma's display was suddenly filled with cats acting angry and aggressive. Ranma had no way to escape and his mind snapped. He went into the berserker condition the Nekoken training induces and his feral mind had no buffer between himself and the Eva. I believe it was then that he was absorbed into the Eva and the Eva began acting like a cat."

Ritsuko looked at the girls. It would have been funny had the situation not been so serious. They were both beyond angry, but they were still like polar opposites. Rei was sitting there, her crimson eyes alight with cold fury while Asuka's blue eyes burned with a fiery rage. Misato also looked mad enough to spit nails, but not nearly as angry as the girls.

"Ranma was correct," Rei said. One could almost hear the derision and disgust in her tone, but not quite. "The Commander is a terrible man."

"A terrible man?" Asuka spat. There was no missing her feelings on the matter. "He's a no-good, back-stabbing bastard! He's a miserable piece of filth is what he is. He could have gotten us both killed! As it is he got Ranma absorbed into his Eva!"

"No arguments here," Misato agreed. "So what do we do about this?"

"Nothing," Ritsuko said emphatically. "If any of you do anything, the Commander will have you eliminated, even you Rei, and I may not be allowed to try and retrieve Ranma. We'll just watch him closely and work on getting Ranma back. Otherwise, we can't let on what we know."

"This SUCKS!" Asuka shouted then visibly calmed herself.

The others agreed silently.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma was sitting on a rock beside a waterfall in an idyllic forest of massive, ancient trees. He had been walking for what seemed like hours before he found this spot and he decided to pause for rest. He had no idea where he was or how he got here.

Suddenly, a woman appeared before him. She sported a familiar dark complexion and vertically-slitted eyes, like those of a furry demon from hell.

"Bastet-sama? Where am I? What happened?" Ranma asked.

"Greetings, my blessed one," Bastet smiled kindly. "Currently you are absorbed in your Evangelion after Gendo Ikari induced the Nekoken in you. Don't worry, your cat-side defeated the angel and your beloveds are safe."

"So how do I get back?" Ranma asked.

"As you know, at this point in Shinji's story, he was tempted to join with his Evangelion and escape his reality," Bastet explained. "However, I've co-opted this time to present you with an opportunity."

"What opportunity?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "Are you going to send me home?"

Bastet smiled at the obvious reluctance on Ranma's part to return to his own reality.

"Not as yet, Blessed One," the goddess answered. "Instead, I want to give you a chance to overcome your greatest weakness. I want to give you the chance to master the Nekoken."

"B-but how?" Ranma asked fearfully.

"You must overcome your fear and prove your dominance over the cat spirit inside you," Bastet explained. The goddess gestured expansively to the forest around them. "Somewhere out there is your cat spirit. You must hunt it down and subdue it. If you win, the Nekoken will be yours to command and you will be returned to Tokyo 3."

"Will I still be afraid of c-c-cats?" Ranma asked.

"Cats do not fear other cats," Bastet laughed in amusement. "Unless the other cat is bigger and more dominant than they are. You will be the biggest and strongest cat of all so you will have no fear."

"You mean I'm going to turn into a c-c-cat?" Ranma exclaimed.

"Not per se," Bastet explained. "You will become more cat-like mentally, more territorial and protective of those you consider as belonging to your pride. You will likely be a bit more aggressive when threatened and more playful and affectionate with those you love. You will also have the abilities of the Nekoken, the increased agility and reflexes, all the time. You'll be able to form the claws at will and your senses will be heightened greatly. You'll even find your night vision is far more acute."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Ranma said. "But how will I overcome the fear?"

"That I cannot tell you," Bastet said. "You must do that on your own. I will, however, say this, if you do not overcome it and the cat spirit achieves dominance, you will remain trapped in the Nekoken inside the Evangelion unable to return. The girls will miss you."

Bastet winked at him and vanished.

Ranma looked around nervously at the trees surrounding him. Somewhere out there was his worst fear personified. All he had to do is find it and defeat it. The pigtailed martial artist shuddered at the thought. How was he supposed to beat something that the mere sight of sent him screaming in abject terror?

Then something Bastet said hit him. If he didn't win, then Rei and Asuka would be hurt. Not only that, they would probably be killed. Ranma realized he wasn't just facing this for himself; he had to succeed for the girls he loved. How could he not defeat his fears with the girls' lives hanging in the balance?

Resolve filled him as he stood up and made his way into the forest.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Oh, man," Ranma complained after having wandered around searching for some sign of his adversary for what seemed like days. "How the heck am I supposed to find the thing?"

As if in answer to his question, a deer suddenly burst from the trees and ran past him at top speed. Moments later, the object of Ranma's quest appeared from where the deer had come from. It instantly spotted Ranma and froze, looking at him warily.

Ranma also froze, trembling in terror. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this certainly wasn't it. Before him, tail lashing agitatedly from side to side, crouched an absolutely gigantic, brown and black tabby cat. It regarded him with vertically-slitted blue eyes and emitted a low rumbling growl. The furry demon had to weigh every bit as much as Ranma did and was sized proportionately.

Ranma gulped, trying desperately to quell his fear by grasping onto thoughts of Rei and Asuka, counter-balancing his fear of the cat with his fear of them dying because he was too weak to protect them.

"I-I don't suppose you want to just give up quietly?" Ranma stammered.

Another low growl was his answer.

"I d-didn't think so," Ranma said, steeling himself and falling into a loose stance.

The cat saw this and laid its ears back against its head. It hissed threateningly at him and gathered itself, all the while tail lashing from side to side. Ranma quivered in dread at the sight.

"Let's get this over with," Ranma said nervously.

Suddenly, the cat sprang. Ranma nearly peed himself but managed to leap to the side and land a quick kick to the cat's ribs. The cat whirled around with amazing agility and lashed out at Ranma with wickedly sharp claws. Ranma narrowly avoided them and the battle raged on.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"This had better work, Ritsuko," Misato growled as she stood in the control room flanked by Rei and Asuka.

It had been a month since Ranma had been absorbed into the Eva and it had taken them that long to prepare for the recovery procedure they were about to perform. Now everything was ready and Ritsuko prayed that it worked. She was deeply afraid that if they failed, the three females behind her would do something stupidly rash like flay the skin from Gendo Ikari's hide.

"Start the procedure," Ritsuko commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am," Maya said. "Starting stage one of the recovery procedure now."

The techs monitoring the various readings began to call out reports. Things were going as expected for this stage of the process. Ritsuko gave the order to start stage two.

As stage two began to be implemented, things began to go wrong.

"It's not working," Maya called out. "His ego border seems to be trapped in a loop and is spinning out of control."

"The radiation bombardment is being trapped. Pressure in the plug is rising!" a tech called out.

"Shut it down now!" Ritsuko ordered.

"I can't! It's not responding," Maya said.

"Pressure in the plug is continuing to rise!" the tech said.

"What does that mean?" Misato demanded.

"It means we failed," Ritsuko said.

"Plug pressure critical! The plug is going to be forced open!" the tech reported moments before the main hatch burst open, spilling the LCL inside it over the floor.

"NOOOO!" Asuka screamed, running from the room with Rei and Misato just behind her.

She reached the Eva cage and fell to her knees before Ranma's empty plug suit. The redhead scooped it up and held it to her, sobbing uncontrollably. Misato knelt in front of her, also sobbing as she hugged the German girl.

Rei stood before Unit 01 staring at it.

"Why won't you give him back?" she asked softly. "We need him with us. Please give him back."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma stood breathing heavily and dripping blood from various slashes that covered his torso. The battle had raged for days but now, at last, he stood over his adversary. The cat's fur was matted with blood, its ears notched and torn, claws broken. It had finally surrendered to him and was currently stretched out on its back with its throat and belly exposed in a posture of submission.

It was then that Ranma realized that the fear was gone. He no longer quaked in terror in the presence of the cat. He could even say the word without stuttering in dread.

Then, all around him, he heard the sound of women weeping. Amidst this, he heard a soft voice pleading.

"Why won't you give him back?" the voice said. It sounded like Rei. "We need him with us. Please give him back."

Suddenly, Ranma felt a strange tugging sensation and he blacked out.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Suddenly, with a wet flop, Ranma's unconscious naked body fell on the gantry in a pool of LCL before Rei.

"Ranma!" Rei exclaimed, instantly kneeling and pulling him into her lap.

Misato and Asuka looked up in surprise, hardly daring to hope. They saw Rei holding Ranma and practically teleported over to them. Asuka was practically lying on top of him as she tried to embrace as much of him as she could. Misato claimed a hand and was grinning like a maniac as she watched Rei pillow Ranma's head in her lap and stroke his hair.

Ranma's eyes flickered open and he looked around.

"Rei? Asuka? Misato? W-what's going on?" Ranma asked groggily.

"We almost lost you again, Idioten!" Asuka sobbed in relief.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"How is he?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen," Ritsuko said. "Physically, he's more than healthy as always, but he's different now. Somehow, when his body reformed, there were some changes. His canines are slightly longer than normal, for instance, and his irises are slightly oval shaped, suggestive of a cat's eye. It gets more prominent when exposed to a bright light."

"What does that mean?" Misato asked.

"Well, while he was inside the Eva, he claimed he was forced to face his fears and master the Nekoken. He believes it's a manifestation of the feline traits that became part of him when he mastered the technique," Ritsuko answered.

"What do you think?" Misato asked.

"I checked his DNA and it's the same as before," Ritsuko said. "I really can't think of a better explanation than that. I'm not too concerned about it. The new features aren't really noticeable unless you look closely. He still looks perfectly human."

"Is that all?" Misato inquired.

"His hearing seems to be much more acute and he says his sense of smell is much better than before," Ritsuko explained. "He also claims that his personality might become more cat-like."

"Great," Misato drawled. "If he starts spraying the furniture, I'm having him neutered."

Ritsuko snickered.

"Asuka and Rei may do very bad things to you if you did," the blonde pointed out. "Anyway, I find the whole thing fascinating. I'm very interested to see these cat-like personality traits when they manifest."

"I'm not surprised," Misato said dryly. "Being our resident cat freak and all. Just don't get caught 'petting' him or there may be a 'cat' fight."

"That was bad, Misato, even for you," Ritsuko groaned.

Misato snickered.

"When are you releasing him?" Misato asked.

"He can go home tonight," Ritsuko said.

"Good," Misato nodded. "Good thing I have a date tonight or the yowling and purring that happens when the girls get their tomcat home might keep me up all night."

Ritsuko slapped her hand to her face and shook her head in dismay at the lame 'cat' euphemisms. Apparently, Misato was going to be unbearable to be around for a while. She briefly wondered if it would be celebrated as a public service if she brained the purple-haired twit before she cracked any more goofy cat jokes.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"SEELE won't be happy to hear about what happened with Unit 01," Kaji drawled. "What will you tell them?"

"It doesn't matter," Gendo said. "It's not as if we could have anticipated what happened. It was completely unforeseen and we were in no way responsible. We have frozen Unit 01 for the time being and it will remain frozen pending further orders from SEELE."

"I'm sure SEELE will be pleased to hear it," Kaji said. "You are fortunate that Unit 02 only suffered minor damage since Unit 00 is still being repaired. At least you're not completely vulnerable."

"Unit 00 will be back to operational readiness within a week," Fuyutsuki said. "We will be ready for the next attack."

"I certainly hope so," Kaji said as he left.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat on the couch at the Katsuragi asylum sandwiched between two affectionate girls. Asuka giggled as Ranma actually began to purr as one of them played with his hair and the other rubbed his belly.

"Variable-chan, promise you won't ever leave us," Asuka said softly.

The purring stopped and they felt Ranma tense.

"I-I-I promise I won't ever leave either of you of my own free will," Ranma stammered.

"Ranma, what is wrong?" Rei said, picking up on Ranma's conflicted state.

The pigtailed martial artist was silent for several minutes before giving both girls an affectionate squeeze.

"I guess you both deserve to know the truth," Ranma said. "Please believe me when I say I love you both more than anything or anyone I have ever loved. Hell, I'd give up the art for you two if I had to."

Both girls looked at him curiously, confused about where this was going but thrilled that he would put them before his beloved art.

"The truth is, I am not from this reality," Ranma said nervously.

"What are you talking about, Variable-chan?" Asuka demanded.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I was sent here by a goddess to give me a break from the pressures I was being put under back where I came from," Ranma explained.

"You were sent here on vacation?" Asuka blinked incredulously. "I know you've told me about your life before you came here, but coming here where you are fighting for your life against angels is supposed to be a _vacation_? What kind of insane life did you have before?"

"Believe me, it has been a vacation," Ranma said ruefully. "Back where I came from I had no real friends, just people that wanted to use me to make their own dreams come true. Even my parents were like that. My pop was out to live a life of leisure off of my blood and sweat. I had to hide from my own mother who hasn't seen her son in 11 years so she wouldn't find out about my curse and demand I commit seppuku for not being a man among men, thanks to a contract my pop made with her when he took me on a ten year martial arts training trip. The contract said he would make me a man among men or we'd both commit seppuku. He got me to sign it by telling me I was finger painting. I was 6 at the time."

"What kind of idioten would do something like that?" Asuka demanded. "And what kind of pathetic excuse for a mother would make her own child commit seppuku just because they didn't live up to her standards?"

"Apparently, mine," Ranma said sadly. "But that's not all. Thanks to my father's lack of honor and integrity, he sold my hand in marriage every time he got the chance. When I left, I had three girls after me with legitimate claims and who knows how many more that just hadn't found me yet. I can't marry any of them with out someone losing their honor and starting a blood feud. I lived with one of them. She was the one that was constantly accusing me of being a womanizing pervert and hitting me with a mallet."

"You're kidding," Asuka said as Rei listened passively.

"No, I'm not," Ranma shook his head. "And it still gets worse. Each of the girls actively pursuing me came with her own jealous suitor. None of the guys understand that I'm not interested in the girl they want and they constantly attack me thinking that if they beat me they will get the girl they are after. Some of them are almost as powerful as I am. There's barely a day that goes by that I'm not randomly attacked by a jealous suitor, someone my pop ripped off, or just some bizarre martial artist that wants to test their skill against the best."

Asuka and Rei struggled to comprehend what that sort of life would be like, but Ranma went on.

"Then where I go to school, there's a freakin' insane upperclassmen that thinks because he comes from a Samurai family and has a ton of money that every girl wants him. He firmly believes that the fiancée I live with and my female side are in love with him and the only thing keeping them from running to his arms is that my boy side has them under an evil spell that makes them act like they hate him. He has an equally insane sister that wants my guy side and hates my girl side. I haven't been able to convince either of them that my girl side and boy side are the same person."

"That's just crazy," Asuka stammered. "Does it get any worse?"

"That's about it, aside from none of them give a damn about what I want or what my dreams might be," Ranma sighed, "and they all use my honor against me. Do you believe me?"

"That story is too crazy for you to have made it up," Asuka said. "And then there's your curse. I suppose it's no harder to believe that than the curse. But why are you telling us this?"

"Because when this is all over and my job here is done, I might get pulled back to my reality," Ranma said somberly. "I don't want to. I want to stay here with you two, but the choice may not be mine."

"What is your job here?" Rei asked.

Ranma looked at Rei.

"I was sent here to stop Gendo Ikari and SEELE from wiping out everyone on the planet when they try to initiate the Third Impact," Ranma said. He watched as Rei's eyes widened. "I know what they have planned and I need your help to stop it. I never counted on falling in love with you both, but you're the only girls I've ever met that wanted me for who I am and not because of some stupid obligation."

Both Rei and Asuka were looking at Ranma with confusion in their eyes. They didn't know how to take what they had just been told. Ranma sighed sadly.

"I'm really sorry," Ranma said. "I never meant to hurt either of you. It's just that when I came here I didn't think there was any chance I'd be going back. It wasn't until after we were already involved that the goddess responsible for my being here contacted me. It wasn't until then that I even had a clue why I was here. The first time she talked to me was when I was trapped inside the 12th angel. Most recently, she contacted me again when I was absorbed into Unit 01. She never said if I was going to be returned, but I think it could be a possibility.

"Anyway, I really do love you both more than life itself, but I can understand if you hate me after what I've just told you. I think I need to go to bed now. Goodnight."

Ranma swiftly stood up and headed for his room before they could see the tears running down his face. Rei and Asuka looked at each other, stunned by what they had been told.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"What have you found out?" the old woman asked as she sat on a park bench with her small dog.

"I've found a credible source of information that pretty much spelled out the whole plan," Kaji said. "He is working from the inside to stop them, but he made contact with me to request our help when the time comes. It's all detailed on the disk."

"How reliable is your source?" the old woman asked.

"From what I've been able to confirm, he's completely reliable," Kaji said.

"Very well, I will pass the data on to those who will make a decision," the old woman said.

"My source requests a decision on whether help will be rendered be made soon as he is unsure of the timetable," Kaji said. "As soon as they decide, contact me and I'll pass on the information."

"Understood," the old woman said as she stood and walked off with her dog.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma had been laying on his bed for a good fifteen minutes, tears flowing down his face from the emotional pain he was in. He knew he had lost the two people he loved the most, just as he had lost everything else in his life that he really cared about.

Suddenly he was ripped from his self-pity by his door slamming open. Asuka stalked in followed less aggressively, but with a similar look of resolve, by Rei. Ranma quickly wiped the tears away in a futile effort to hide them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Asuka demanded.

"Um...going to bed?" Ranma said.

"Without us?" Asuka demanded.

"I...um...didn't think you would want me with you after I told you what I did," Ranma answered.

"Idioten!" Asuka snapped. "Do you think we're so shallow that we'd stop loving you because of that?"

"B-but I might get taken from you," Ranma hedged.

"Then it is important that we have as much time as we can together," Rei said.

Ranma didn't know what to say. He nearly sobbed in relief that they still wanted to be with him. Fortunately, he didn't need to say anything as he was pulled up and dragged to the girls' bedroom where a splash of water was applied before the girls got frisky.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"That was so beautiful," Kasumi said tearfully when Nabiki stopped the tape. "I'm so happy for Ranma. I really hope Bastet-sama allows him to stay with those two."

The fiancées and Nodoka said nothing as they looked down in shame. Nabiki could almost feel sorry for them, but she felt Ranma was spot on with his assessment of them.

"Foolish boy," Genma moaned. "How could he disrespect his father so? And crying like a simpering little girl over those stupid girls. It's shameful!"

"Saotome," Nabiki growled. "You're about two more words away from having a cold-water experience. Those casts will feel awfully tight on your panda form I bet."

Genma paled and snapped his mouth shut.

Cologne just shook her head at the stupid male's antics. It was males like him that validated the Amazon way of life.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	15. Chapter 15

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 15**

"Elder, may I have a word with you in private?" Nodoka asked Cologne.

"Of course, Dear," Cologne agreed.

The two elder women moved to the dojo. Nodoka assumed seiza position and Cologne seated herself opposite the maroon-haired woman.

"What is it you wished to speak of, Dear?" Cologne asked.

"Elder, do you think I'm a bad mother because I expect my son to live up to my expectations?" Nodoka asked.

Cologne sat thoughtfully for several minutes before answering.

"Do you wish for my honest opinion?" Nodoka nodded so Cologne continued. "As mothers, we often have to do things that are hurtful to our children. I didn't like having to give Xian Pu her curse, but the law was clear. She failed in her duty as an Amazon warrior and had to be penalized. She also needed to learn a lesson about her pride. You see, she need not have given Ranma's girl-form the Kiss of Death."

"I don't understand," Nodoka said.

"The match was fairly fought over food Ranma and his father had eaten by mistake. Yet her pride wouldn't let her accept being humbled by an outsider in front of the whole village, even though she had just won the tournament," Cologne explained. "She rashly vowed to hunt down and kill someone with far more skill than she possessed and not surprisingly, she failed. She is just fortunate that Ranma is a kind person. Most people would have met lethal force with lethal force, but Ranma just avoided her or incapacitated her long enough to get away."

"What has this to do with me and my son?" Nodoka asked.

"I was merely illustrating that sometimes we must hurt our children so that they will learn a lesson," Cologne said. "Xian Pu knowingly invoked the tribal law and she was expected to deal with the consequences."

"So you feel I am justified in enforcing the contract my son signed?" Nodoka asked.

"Not in the least," Cologne said, a hint of disgust tainting her tone. "First of all, Ranma was six years old and couldn't even write, much less read and understand what was in that contract. Nor could he appreciate the consequences of failure. The fact is Ranma never even signed it. As you heard, his father told him he was finger painting. No self-respecting mother would call for their child's life just because they didn't turn out the way the mother wanted. It is a mother's duty to protect their children, not judge them. You have failed thus far in the first and set yourself up for the second."

"I-I see," Nodoka said, looking down in shame.

"Forgive my bluntness," Cologne said, "but you have allowed yourself to be manipulated by that miserable waste of a male you call a husband. It was his goal to alienate you from Ranma and he succeeded marvelously in that."

"Why would Genma do such a thing?" Nodoka asked.

"You heard him," Cologne spat. "He considers women to be weak and inferior. He wanted to stamp out Ranma's softer side and getting him away from you was the first step. He also thought that you would interfere with his plans for Ranma."

"I always let Genma control Ranma's training," Nodoka denied.

"Tell me, had you been there, would you have allowed him to subject Ranma to the Nekoken?" Cologne asked.

"Certainly not!" Nodoka said emphatically, then paused. "I see what you mean. Then it's true. I'm a failure as a mother?"

"You made a mistake," Cologne said. "A mistake you have been paying for, for the last eleven years. IF Ranma returns to us, you now have an opportunity to be his mother and make things right. Do not think Ranma has been hiding from you because he fears for his life like his miserable coward of a father. Ranma hides from you because he desperately doesn't want to disappoint you."

Nodoka sat silently with her eyes closed as a tear squeezed out from beneath the tightly closed lids.

"Come, Dear, let's go watch more of your son's adventures," Cologne said gently.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma woke up purring as she felt herself being gently stroked. Her eyes slowly opened to Rei propped up on one elbow slowly caressing her.

"Morning," Ranma purred languidly.

"You know of my true nature and my part in the Commander's plan, don't you?" Rei asked softly.

"I know, and it doesn't make any difference to me," Ranma said. "I love you, Rei. And I meant what I said when I said you're irreplaceable. I don't care if they do have a tank full of copies of you, seeing you die would hurt."

Rei paused in her stroking and blinked her now glistening eyes several times.

"Thank you," Rei said softly. "But what of my purpose in the Commander's plan?"

"I won't allow him to use you like that," Ranma vowed, placing a gentle hand on Rei's cheek. "I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that you and Asuka live through this. If I get to stay afterward, then we can be happy together. If I'm forced to go back, then at least I'll know you are both alive."

Rei closed her eyes and nuzzled into Ranma's hand. Rei's hand, which was resting on Ranma's smooth, taut belly, was joined by another, fingers intertwining with hers.

"Let's just hope you get to stay, Liebling," Asuka said groggily from where she was cuddled up to Ranma's other side. "I don't fancy living without either of you."

The three of them laid there for a while longer, basking in the warmth of their mutual affection.

"Ugh," Asuka commented. "I feel awful."

"What's wrong, Koi?" Ranma asked her with concern.

"I just feel sick, Variable-chan," Asuka said. "My back is sore and my stomach feels a little queasy."

"Hmm, well, we have a sync test later today," Ranma commented. "Maybe we can get Dr. Akagi to check you out. Speaking of which, we need to get going. I hope you both were keeping up on your training while I was gone."

Both girls nodded.

"Good," Ranma said. "I'll go get started on breakfast if you two want the furoba first."

"That would be acceptable," Rei said.

"Let me go brush my teeth and stuff first then," Ranma said, giving each girl a gentle kiss on the forehead before untangling herself and heading to the bathroom.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Damn," Ranma cursed as she lowered herself into the furo and didn't change. "I hate it when this happens."

Sighing, she settled in to soak in the hot water, closing her eyes and relaxing. Suddenly, her eyes popped open wide as something occurred to her. A weak smile appeared on her face.

"I guess it had to happen sooner or later," Ranma said to herself. "Things are bound to get ugly though."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Asuka-chan?" Ranma said, entering the room where Asuka was laying on the couch looking miserable.

"Yeah?" Asuka prompted.

"Here, take these," Ranma said, handing her a couple of pills and a glass of water. "They'll help you feel better."

Asuka sat up and accepted the offering. She shot Ranma a weak smile of thanks and put the pills in her mouth, washing them down with the water.

"There's something I need to give you, Koi," Ranma said. "Come with me, please."

Ranma offered her hand to Asuka and pulled her to her feet before leading her to the bathroom.

"You'll want to carry these with you when we leave," Ranma said, handing her a few items.

Asuka blinked at the other redhead in confusion after she saw what the items Ranma handed her were.

"This is embarrassing and I'm really sorry, but I have to ask, do you know how to use them?" Ranma asked.

"I-I-I," Asuka stammered, blushing. Ranma sighed.

"Believe me, Koi, this is one discussion that I never thought I'd be on either end of," Ranma said. "If you want, you can have Dr. Akagi explain things."

"N-no," Asuka said hesitantly. "I'd rather you explained it to me."

Ranma nodded and steeled herself.

"The flat thin items are panty shields," Ranma said. "I usually use them until I start spotting. After that, I switch to the tampons. Those are all I have so if you'd rather use sanitary napkins, you'll have to get your own. The tampons work better for me as a martial artist. I don't have to worry about them moving out of position and they're less obvious than the napkins."

"Alright," Asuka said, blushing madly.

Ranma went on to explain how to insert the tampons, demonstrating on herself as Asuka watched closely. After that, Ranma explained how to properly dispose of the used items, cautioning Asuka that flushing them down the toilet could cause the toilet to become plugged up. The whole experience was mortifying for both girls.

When the deeply blushing girls came out of the bathroom, Rei was looking at them curiously. Asuka began giggling as a thought popped into her head.

"Just think, Variable-chan," Asuka giggled. "You may have to go through that whole explanation again with Rei soon."

Ranma paled causing Asuka to giggle harder.

"By the way," Asuka asked as she recovered from her giggle fit. "How did you know?"

"I...um...didn't at first, until I got in the furo and didn't change," Ranma explained. "Kasumi told me that when women live in close proximity together their cycles will sync up. It suddenly occurred to me what was happening when I remembered the symptoms you were complaining about. And there was something else."

Asuka looked at the madly blushing Ranma in question.

"Well?" the German redhead prompted.

"Well, you remember how I mentioned my sense of smell is much more sensitive now?" Ranma said in embarrassment.

"Are you saying you could smell it?" Asuka demanded, mortified.

"Well, at first I thought it was just from last night, but then I could still pick it up after you got out of the furo," Ranma explained. "I'm not saying ya stink or anything. You just smell a little different from normal."

"You know, Variable-chan," Asuka said darkly, "if you didn't go through this too, that would be _so_ embarrassing."

"I know. I'm sorry," Ranma said apologetically. "Don't worry though. We'll get you your own bottle of Midol and a nice hot water bottle on the way home. Then I'll show you some utterly divine massage techniques that Kasumi taught me that will make you feel almost normal."

"What are you two discussing?" Rei asked innocently.

"I'm having my first period, Rei-chan," Asuka said proudly.

"Perhaps, I too can learn the massage techniques so I can be of assistance to both of you," Rei suggested.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"I don't understand it," Ritsuko said shaking her head.

"Understand what?" Misato asked.

"Asuka's sync ratio is still falling," Ritsuko explained. "It started to drop when Ranma was trapped in the Eva, but I thought it would be back up now that he's back."

"Maybe it's her period," Misato said.

"Ranma's doesn't drop that far when she has hers," Ritsuko argued. "She's having hers at the moment as well and it still hasn't fallen more than 5 points."

"Well, it is her first period," Misato said. "You know how stressful your first period can be. What's worse is Ranma had to explain what was happening to her and show her what to do. It's gotta be completely embarrassing for your boyfriend to have to explain to you how to use a tampon."

Ritsuko burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, poor Ranma," Ritsuko laughed. "I bet they were both red as lobsters!"

"It's not funny," Misato snickered. "Okay, maybe a little funny, but I bet that's why her sync rate is down."

"So what are the standings?" Asuka demanded over the intercom from her entry plug. "Have I caught up to Variable-chan yet?"

"Sorry, Asuka," Ritsuko said. "You've actually fallen behind. Rei is nearly up to Ranma's ratio thanks to Ranma losing a few points due to her menses."

"WHAT?" Asuka shrieked. "I can't be in last place! I just can't!"

The German redhead began cursing in German and pounding her instrument panel angrily. Ritsuko looked over at Misato.

"Nice one, Ritsuko," Misato said dryly. "Way to induce a mood-swing."

Ritsuko blinked sheepishly.

"Asuka, you're just under a lot of stress right now," Ritsuko tried to reassure the grouchy girl. "You'll be better in a few days."

"But Variable-chan doesn't drop that far," Asuka whined. "It's not fair!"

"Ranma has been having hers for a while now," Ritsuko explained. "The first time is always hard. Once you get used to it you won't drop any more than Ranma's does."

Asuka seemed mollified but she continued to mutter curses in German.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Dr. Akagi?" Rei asked dispassionately.

"Yes, what is it Rei?" Ritsuko prompted, looking up from her paperwork.

"Will I also begin my menses soon?" the blue-haired girl asked softly.

"To be honest, I don't know, Rei," Ritsuko answered. "You have all the correct equipment so it is possible. Only time will tell."

"I see," Rei said. "Will I be able to bear children?"

"Um...as I said, you have all the correct parts to get pregnant, but I wouldn't recommend taking the chance," Ritsuko said carefully. "It would be difficult to explain to Commander Ikari how that happened and..." Ritsuko trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought.

"He would most likely have me removed and activate the third," Rei finished for her in the same tone one might use when discussing the weather.

Ritsuko just looked away and nodded.

"I understand," Rei stated.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Where's Rei-chan?" Asuka said as she moaned in pleasure under Ranma's skilled hands. "I thought she wanted to learn how to do this?"

"She stayed to talk to Ritsuko," Ranma explained. "I guess she should be home in a while."

"Mmmm, that feels good," Asuka purred.

"Yeah, I always thought so too when Kasumi did it for me," Ranma agreed. "I didn't get it very often though. If Akane had saw Kasumi doing it, I would have got malleted to the moon for being a pervert with her sister."

"Mein gott, how did you put up with her?" Asuka asked.

"Everything is training, Asuka-chan," Ranma giggled. "Thanks to Akane and that mallet of hers, I'm able to take one heck of a beating without it slowing me down. Of course I know now that I shouldn't have let it happen. While I was using it as training, I was also training her that it was alright to take her anger out on me by hitting me. Enabling her, is what I think Ritsuko called it."

"And you were also being conditioned to fear affection," Asuka pointed out.

"Yeah," Ranma agreed sadly. "I don't anymore though."

Ranma leaned down and kissed Asuka on the back of her neck. Asuka moaned happily.

"I love you, Variable-chan," Asuka purred.

"I love you too, Asuka-chan," Ranma said tenderly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei stood before the tanks containing numerous copies of her. The blue-haired girl was deep in thought considering what she had come here for. On the one hand, if she carried out what she was planning, she could be in grave trouble. On the other hand, with numerous copies of herself, the Commander could have her removed if he discovered her relationship with Ranma and her change of loyalty.

The fact was, after the Commander nearly caused her to lose Ranma with his cruel act of inducing the Nekoken, Rei had begun to despise Gendo Ikari. She had, she decided, very little choice if she wanted some sort of insurance that she wouldn't be replaced.

Going over to the control panel, she depressed a button.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to her copies as they began to dissolve in the tanks.

Covering her tracks, she quickly left the room and made her way out of the facility. When they discovered what she had done, they would find that the only person that had been in that room was Sub-commander Fuyutsuki. Dr. Akagi might be able to detect her tampering, but Rei was now convinced that Dr. Akagi would say nothing.

Rei now truly was irreplaceable, just like her beloved said.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

As luck would have it, a day later, Kozo Fuyutsuki vanished. The truth was he was kidnapped by SEELE so that they could interrogate him, but given the fact that the Rei clones had been destroyed and the security logins placed him on the scene, the situation looked really bad for him.

It also worked out perfectly for Kaji, who was still playing the part of SEELE's inside man, in spite of the fact that NERV was aware of his supposed allegiance to the shadowy cabal. It was the perfect cover for his operation to abduct Fuyutsuki. He wouldn't even be suspected.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei entered the apartment and immediately hugged Ranma tightly, burying her face in the part-time redhead's shoulder. Ranma could tell that the blue-haired girl was obviously upset and held her close while giving Asuka a confused look.

"What's wrong, Rei-chan?" Ranma asked with concern.

"I destroyed them," Rei said, sadness tainting her voice. "I truly am irreplaceable now."

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan," Ranma said compassionately. "I know that must have been terrible for you."

"I felt...most unpleasant," Rei said. "I felt as if I were killing myself."

"I understand, Rei-chan," Ranma said comfortingly. "At least you're safe now. That bastard Gendo can't just recycle you if he feels the need. Not that I'd let him anyway."

"What are you guys talking about?" Asuka asked.

"Rei-chan, do you want to tell her?" Ranma asked. "It's up to you."

Rei nodded against Ranma's shoulder. Ranma sighed and sat down holding Rei in her lap. She began to explain Rei's nature and Gendo's plan to Asuka.

"You mean she's part angel?" Asuka exclaimed in shock.

"And I'm part girl. So what?" Ranma countered. "She's still the same person that we came to love. And it doesn't change the fact that she loves us and has been there for us when we needed her."

"I guess that does explain some things about how she was raised," Asuka conceded.

Asuka looked at Rei who was now trembling slightly in Ranma's embrace. Her thoughts spun crazily as she thought about the revelations of the past couple of days. They had seriously shaken her worldview. Coupled with the fact that her hormones were going nuts from her period, Asuka felt desperately off balance.

Suddenly, it hit her as she watched Ranma comforting Rei tenderly. Ranma was her pillar. It didn't matter if she was off balance. She could cling to him for support. Thinking back to the two times Ranma had been lost to them, she realized that Rei was also a source of support for her. Nothing else really mattered.

Asuka slowly stood and moved over to the pair. Hesitantly, she put her arms around them and held on to them tightly.

"I-I feel so lost," Asuka said. "Like I'm in over my head. But I know in my heart I can trust both of you. I'm not giving either of you up. You can both count on me."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Kozo Fuyutsuki sat in the cell they had thrown him in following his interrogation by SEELE, his arms secured behind him to the chair-back he was sitting in. SEELE was clearly worried about Gendo Ikari's loyalty, as well they should be, and they had obviously brought him here to try and figure out what the man was planning.

Fuyutsuki would hold out giving them anything important for as long as he could, but he knew that things would get worse before they got better. SEELE wasn't a group that was bothered by human rights, nor did they constrain themselves to human methods. In the end, he knew he would break. He just hoped he could buy Ikari enough time to implement his plan.

He turned to look over his shoulder when the door to his dark cell opened.

"You," Fuyutsuki said.

"Yes, me," Kaji drawled. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me, Sub-commander."

Kaji squatted down to unfasten Fuyutsuki's hands.

"You know what you're doing," Fuyutsuki stated. "They will kill you."

"Yes, I imagine so," Kaji said in a causal tone. "But at least I'll have company. Gendo Ikari believes you've betrayed him. He has Section 2 out hunting you with termination orders. So while SEELE will be hunting me, NERV will be hunting you. Fortunately for you, my employers want to meet you."

"Your employers?" Fuyutsuki asked. "I thought you worked for SEELE?"

"All in good time, Sub-Commander, all in good time," Kaji said pleasantly as he completed releasing Fuyutsuki's bindings.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"It's just sitting there, Ma'am," Hyuga reported. "It's floating in orbit just out of our range."

"What? Is it looking for a nice soft place to land?" Misato asked sarcastically as she looked at the glowing object that resembled a stag horn fern painted glowing white. "What's it waiting for?"

"I don't know, Ma'am," Hyuga answered.

"Fine, Asuka, I want you to take the point," Misato ordered. "When the angel gets close enough, take the shot. Rei, I want you to back her up."

"Roger," the two girls said.

"What about me, Misato?" Ranma asked.

"Sorry, Ranma," Misato said. "You're sitting this one out. Unit 01 is to remain in cryo-stasis until further notice."

"Roger," Ranma said glumly.

"Don't worry, Variable-chan," Asuka said cheerfully. "We got this one."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka maneuvered Unit 02 off the catapult and awaited the delivery of her rifle. It was the most powerful in NERV's arsenal, firing a rocket-assisted, HE (high explosive) penetrator to near-orbital altitudes. There was only one weapon that could match it in terms of delivering power at extreme ranges and that was the commandeered JSDF positron laser rifle. The problem was that at the range they were dealing with the laser lost much of its energy, which is why it was relegated to a backup role in this case.

Warning klaxons sounded as the lift bringing Asuka's rifle rose to the surface. The red Eva reached out and collected the rifle from its carriage. Asuka shouldered the rifle and dropped her targeting hood, waiting for the angel to come into range.

Much to Asuka's frustration, the angel steadfastly refused to cooperate. It hovered just out of range, seemingly teasing her as her targeting indicators drifted tantalizingly close to achieving a target lock. Asuka, not a patient person by nature, found it maddening.

Suddenly, a beam of pure, white light stabbed down from the angel. The surprise caused Asuka to jerk the trigger on her controls sending a shot downrange to fall miles short of the target. Then the effects of the beam illuminating her began to take effect.

Asuka could feel the angel invading her mind and she lost control of her Eva. The Eva thrashed about, firing the rifle wildly as it did so, sending HE shells raining down on the city before it until the rifle's ammo was depleted. Dropping the useless rifle, Unit 02 clutched at its head in a desperate attempt to ward off the effects of the beam.

In the entry plug, Asuka too was fighting to keep the angel out of her head.

"NOOOO!" Asuka cried. "Don't come in my head! Stay out of my mind!"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Back inside the NERV control center, Maya was monitoring Asuka's brain functions.

"We're showing signs of thought contamination all across her ego border!" Maya said urgently.

"It's attacking her mind!" Ritsuko exclaimed. "How can it know that much about us?"

"We've got to get her out of there!" Misato shouted. "Asuka! Retreat! Get out of the beam!"

"No! I can't! Can't retreat..." Asuka wailed. "No! Don't show me that! I don't want to remember! R-Ranma, where are you?"

"Rei! Take the shot!" Misato ordered.

"Yes Ma'am," Rei said calmly.

Rei stood behind the massive positron laser, its huge barrel resting on the top of a building and lined up her shot. Achieving a target lock, she depressed the trigger. Windows blew out of every nearby building as the beam of intense energy superheated the air along its path. The beam rose up through the atmosphere on target, only to splash uselessly against the angel's AT field.

"It's no good!" Hyuga announced. "The beam doesn't have enough energy to penetrate the AT field!"

"Damn," Misato cursed, furiously trying to come up with something, anything to take out the angel.

"Vital signs are becoming erratic!" Maya reported. "We're losing her!"

"Let me go out there!" Ranma yelled.

"Negative," Gendo said. "We can't risk Unit 01 at this time."

"It won't be a risk if I take that thing out," Ranma snarled.

"What if you can't?" Gendo asked.

"I can, and I will!" Ranma snapped. "Asuka needs my help and I don't lose."

"I can't take that chance," Gendo said.

"Then what are we going to do?" Misato demanded. "We can't just leave Asuka out there to die!"

"You are right," Gendo said. "Send Rei to Terminal Dogma to retrieve the Lance."

"What?" Misato demanded. "We can't do that! Adam is in there and if Adam meets Eva, we'll trigger the Third Impact."

"The Lance of Longinous is the only thing we have that can destroy that angel," Gendo said. "Bring her in to get the Lance. Now."

"So that was just another lie," Misato muttered as Rei was directed to retrieve the weapon.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka found herself running. She was running to catch up to Ranma and Rei who were walking away, arm in arm.

"Variable-chan, Rei-chan, wait for me!" she called to them, but they didn't seem to hear her. "Please wait! Please don't leave me!"

"Why would they wait for someone like you?" a voice asked. "You're not good enough for them. You never were."

"No! I love them and they love me!" Asuka wailed.

"Why would they possibly love someone as worthless as you?" the voice asked. "That's why your father left, because you weren't good enough for him."

"Nooo!" Asuka wailed, falling to her knees and covering her ears, but still the voice continued.

"Even your mother killed herself because you weren't good enough. She hung herself out of shame, having given birth to a useless piece of trash like you."

"That's not true!" Asuka sobbed.

But still the voice continued, showing her scenes of every time in her life she had failed, the death of her mother, every horrible moment she had ever experienced. Asuka's psyche was relentlessly beaten down and crushed.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Rei finally reached the surface, Lance in hand. It had a long shaft that split into two halves that coiled around each other before extending out into two tines.

"I am in position," Rei said calmly. "I am preparing to launch the Lance."

Rei drew back and paused to allow the computers to calculate the shot. Once they made the adjustments, she initiated the throw. Unit 00 propelled the lance downrange with mighty heave. As soon as the lance left the Eva's hands it turned into a bolt of energy that stabbed through the clouds and streaked toward the target.

The angel brought up its AT field but the lance pierced through it as if it were mere rice paper before penetrating the body of the angel causing it to disintegrate.

"It worked!" Hyuga reported. "The angel is destroyed."

"Status of the Lance?" Gendo asked.

"It achieved escape velocity, Sir," Hyuga answered. "It's now in lunar orbit."

"Then there's no way to retrieve it," Gendo said.

"No, we have no way to retrieve an object of that mass," Hyuga stated.

"What about Asuka?" Misato asked.

"Recovery teams are on the scene," Aoba reported. "She's alive and they've managed to get her out of Unit 02. They have her in a quarantined area incase of contamination. They're retrieving the Eva now."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma was running toward the area where Asuka was sitting. A guard stepped in his path.

"I'm sorry but you can't go in there," the guard said. "This area is quarantined."

Ranma ignored him, leaping over the guard's head and into the area marked off with yellow tape.

"Asuka-chan!" Ranma shouted as he sprinted up to the girl as she sat dejectedly on the ground. "Asuka-chan, are you alright?"

"No!" Asuka shrieked. "No, I'm not alright! Leave me alone. I'm not good enough for you anyway. You'll just leave me behind. Just like my father. Just like my mother."

"Huh?" Ranma said in confusion. "Asuka-chan, I love you! I don't think you're not good enough for me! If anything, I'm not good enough for you!"

Ranma scooped the redhead up into his arms and held her close. She began to struggle, but he didn't let her go. Asuka began to sob and pound on his chest with her small fists. Eventually she gave in and wept into his chest.

"It's okay, Asuka-chan," Ranma whispered soothingly. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. I love you and I think you're way more than good enough for me."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hello," Kaji said with a pleasant smile as three men with guns drawn entered the room. "So at last you've found me. I've been expecting you. My friend really wanted to meet you."

"Hiya, fellas," Ranma said cheerfully.

Two of the men whirled around toward the pigtailed martial artist. A shot rang out and three men crumpled to the ground. One of them wouldn't be getting back up.

"So I guess now you have to disappear?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, but I wanted to arrange a contact for you before I vanished," Kaji said. "You can trust Misato. She's been working with me since just after the 12th angel. From now on, your contact for JSDF Intelligence will be through her."

"She'll miss you," Ranma said.

"Yes," Kaji said.

"I'll take care of her for you," Ranma offered.

"You have my thanks," Kaji said, offering his hand. Ranma took it and they shook. "You had better go. I'll take care of things here. Best of luck to you."

"My luck ain't never been good," Ranma smirked. "I'll rely on my skill, thanks."

"And formidable skill it is," Kaji smiled. "Fare thee well, Ranma Ikari."

"You too, Kaji." Ranma turned and left.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Nabiki stopped the tape and looked around at the others. Nobody looked like they had much to say, so she figured she'd put a thought out there.

"Anyone else think it's hilarious that Ranma, the man among men, machoest of the macho, had to explain what to do about a period to Asuka?" Nabiki snickered.

Cologne burst out laughing while the fiancées looked a bit green.

"Oh what I would have given to be a fly on the wall during that demonstration," Cologne chortled.

"And who knew he could be so comforting?" Nabiki said in amazement. "I guess whoever ends up with him is going to be a very lucky girl. I, for one, can vouch for Kasumi's massage techniques. They're very soothing."

"I'm just glad Ranma is finally getting to use them," Kasumi said happily.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	16. Chapter 16

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 16**

"It will be interesting to see how Ranma deals with Asuka's breakdown," Nabiki commented.

"And this is the episode where Rei s-self-destructs," Akane said, her voice cracking. "She died in the original story, but they activated another copy and told everyone she lived. That's not an option now. If she sacrifices herself this time, she really will be gone."

"Oh my," Kasumi said. "You mean Ranma might lose one of the girls he loves? That's so sad. I don't know if I want to watch this episode."

"He could lose both of them," Nabiki said somberly. "Asuka went off the deep end and retreated from the world after Rei sacrificed herself for Shinji. She just disconnected and became catatonic. I hate to see how she reacts if Ranma manages to save Rei this time when he didn't save her."

"But he couldn't save her," Ukyo argued. "That bastard Gendo wouldn't let him."

"It doesn't matter," Nabiki explained. "To Asuka it will be just another statement that she's worthless, not important enough to send Ranma out to help."

"Aiya! Is too too sad," Shampoo said.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"How did the sync testing go?" Misato asked Ritsuko as the blonde sat down with her coffee.

"Not good, I'm afraid," Ritsuko said. "All of their scores are down, but Asuka's plunged to the point where I'm not sure she can even get her Eva to move. I've had to request another pilot. We can't depend on her anymore. She's allowing herself to be consumed by depression. It's as if the last angel destroyed the barriers in her mind that held all her demons at bay."

"It's really sad," Misato said. "Ranma is trying so hard to reach out to her, but the harder he tries the further she just retreats."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Asuka?" Ranma said, stepping out on to the balcony where the girl was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

Asuka didn't respond, just stared out across the skyline. Ranma reached out to her, but she flinched away from his touch. A wave of hurt passed through Ranma's eyes but it was quickly suppressed. Ranma took a seat beside the girl.

"Asuka, I can't even begin to understand what that angel did to you," Ranma said softly. "All I know is that you're hurting real bad right now and I want to help. You can push me away all you want but it won't work. I love you and I'm not giving up on you no matter what. Rei and I...we need you Asuka-chan."

"That's a lie," Asuka said bitterly. "Why would you need someone as worthless as I am? I probably can't even activate Unit 02 anymore."

"You're not worthless, Asuka-chan," Ranma growled. "Stop thinking you are. You're very important to me and also to Rei."

"What good am I to either of you if I can't pilot an Eva?" Asuka asked in disgust.

"I know how you're feeling," Ranma said softly. "Back where I came from, there was this one time that the perverted old letch that calls himself the Grandmaster of our Ryu got pissed at me. He used a Moxibustion point on me that removed my strength. I was so weak that my strongest punch could barely be felt. I was at the mercy of my rivals and anyone else that chose to attack me. I felt as worthless and depressed as you do now and I asked one of my fiancées that same question you just asked; what good was I if I couldn't be a martial artist? She couldn't answer, and that hurt even worse."

"Yeah, so what happened?" Asuka asked.

"I guess she felt guilty about not being able to answer," Ranma sighed, "because it was one of the few times that she stepped up and helped me. She didn't let me give up. She told me that we would find a way to get my strength back and she reminded me of who I was. I learned a new technique that didn't require strength to perform. To this day it's one of my stronger techniques and I used it to beat the old letch and get the scroll that showed us how to counter the Moxibustion point."

"Well, there is no scroll that will help me," Asuka said harshly.

"Maybe not," Ranma said, "but I learned the answer to the question you asked. What good are you if you can't pilot an Eva? Asuka, you're a brilliant girl. You're not even 16 yet but you hold a college degree. Even if you never piloted an Eva again, you could do just about anything you wanted. And so what if you can't pilot? That's not why I love you. That's not why Rei loves you. We love you because of who you are, not what you do. You're just as beautiful, smart, and desirable now as you were when I met you; maybe even more so since you let go of the superior attitude you had then."

"That's easy for you to say," Asuka argued. "How would you take it if you could never practice the art again?"

"I'd probably be more depressed than you are right now," Ranma admitted. "But you know what? You and Rei wouldn't let me give up on life and Rei and I don't plan to let you give up either. Asuka-chan, you can get it back. Whatever that angel did to your head has knocked you off your center. I promise, all you have to do is find your center and you'll be back better than ever. This is just a bump in the road, Koi. It might take you some time to get past it, but as long as you never give up, you will win."

"Easy for you to say," Asuka repeated somberly.

"You're right," Ranma smiled. "It is easy for me to say...because I believe in you, Koi. I know you can do it. You just need a little time to sort things through. Use the meditation techniques I taught you. They'll help you find your center again."

Ranma reached out and stroked Asuka's hair. He was pleased that this time she didn't flinch away.

"And remember, Rei and I love you," Ranma said. "We need you. Not because of what you do, but who you are."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Where have you been?" Ritsuko demanded as Misato burst into the command center.

"Sorry, I was detained," Misato said in an irritated tone. "Report!"

"We have an angel floating in the sky above Tokyo 3," Hyuga said. "Field pattern is alternating between blue and orange."

"What's that mean?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"I don't know," Ritsuko said, looking at the video image of the glowing, double helix-shaped torus hanging in the sky above them. "But I don't think this is its only shape."

"Fine," Misato said. "I want Rei out there on point. Have Asuka ready to back her up."

"Misato, Asuka will be lucky if she can get her Eva to move, as low as her sync rate is," Ritsuko said.

"There's nothing I can do about it," Misato spat. "I don't have the authority to unfreeze Unit 01."

"I do," Gendo said from above them. "Have Unit 01 removed from cryo-stasis and deploy it on point. Rei will back up the Third Child. Hold Unit 02 in reserve."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma sat in Unit 01 looking up into the sky at the angel. He gripped his progressive katana and waited for it to do something. Unit 00 stood some distance away armed with a naginata.

"Damn, what's it waiting on, Rei?" Ranma complained.

"I do not know," came Rei's dispassionate reply. "I do not think we have to wait much longer."

As she said this, the angel began to glow and suddenly the torus was broken. The angel, now looking like a long, glowing snake, darted in toward Ranma with terrible speed. However, Ranma's lightning fast reflexes and agility bonus, courtesy of the Nekoken, allowed him to easily spin out of the way and land a counterstrike with the katana as the angel barreled past.

"Damn," Ranma cursed, as he saw the katana pass right through the angel's body as if it were insubstantial.

Unit 01 leaped into the air as the angel tried to hit him in the back. When he came down he drove the katana into the ground and began to form a Mouko Takabisha. Firing the ki/AT blast, he quickly discovered that he wasn't the only one too agile to hit as the angel easily avoided the blast while making another attack run on Ranma. It continued like this for several more passes until Ranma deployed his Nekoken claws.

As the angel streaked by, Ranma swiped at it, catching it three-quarters of the way down its length. The claws cleanly severed the rear quarter of the angel's body, causing its glow to flicker momentarily. Unfortunately, a moment later the segments rejoined each other like it had never happened.

Still, the attack had evidently hurt the angel because it paused as if rethinking its strategy. Suddenly it attacked again, only this time it didn't attack Ranma. It went after Rei.

Rei was unprepared for the sudden switch in targets and would have been unable to avoid the swiftly moving angel anyway. She was an excellent pilot, but she just didn't have the preternatural reflexes and agility Ranma possessed, nor did she have the mastery over her Eva that Ranma did. All she could do was put up her AT field.

The angel streaked in and slammed into the AT field. Much to everyone's dismay, it passed right through and struck Unit 00 squarely in the lower torso. Instead of causing damage though, vein-like ridges looking much like filliform corrosion began to spread from the impact site as the angel began to infect Unit 00 and its pilot.

Rei writhed in her seat as the ridges began to appear on her as well. Suddenly she was somewhere else. She was standing on the bank of a pool. In the pool stood someone, or something that looked like her twin.

"Who are you," Rei asked.

"I am you," her mirror image replied.

"You are not me," Rei disagreed. "Are you one of the beings we call angels?"

"Join with me," her mirror image entreated.

"I will not," Rei declined.

"I want to give you something," the mirror image said. "Can you feel that? Can you feel the pain?"

"Yes, I have felt this all my life," Rei said dispassionately.

"It is called loneliness," the mirror image said.

"I know what it is called," Rei said. "I don't have to feel it anymore."

"You are referring to your relationship with the one called Ranma," the mirror image laughed. "What will happen when he is returned to where he came from? You will feel the pain once more."

"No!" Rei denied. "If Ranma must return to his reality then I will still have Asuka."

"The one that even now turns away from you?" the mirror image asked. "Without Ranma to hold you together do you really believe that the one called Asuka will stay with one like you? Join with me."

"I will not," Rei negated.

"You will," the mirror image laughed. "You must."

Then Rei was back in the entry plug of Unit 00. The ridges now covered her body and began to creep onto her face. Rei began to despair. She could only think of one solution to destroy the angel and save Ranma and Asuka. Tears began to flow from her crimson eyes as she grabbed on to the angel to prevent its escape when she activated the self-destruct system.

"Goodbye, Ranma," Rei said softly. "Goodbye, Asuka. I love you both."

"Rei! Listen to me," Ranma shouted in alarm. "Don't you even think about triggering that self-destruct! Remember what I taught you! You have the angel right where you want it! It's trying to merge with you. That means its defenses are down. Use the technique we came up with! Don't you dare give up!"

"I-I cannot," Rei said. "The angel is too strong."

"Bullshit!" Ranma argued. "Concentrate, Rei! Feel the power inside you! Reverse what the angel is trying to do!"

Rei closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt her ki, a warmth pooling just below her belly. She began to gather it and concentrate her power. Suddenly, it was no longer a gentle warmth. It was as if a switch had flipped or a match was thrown into a puddle of gasoline. Now her power was like a raging inferno inside her, building and intensifying as it spread throughout her body. What she didn't realize was that her efforts to gather and concentrate her power had awakened the dormant S2 organ within her and it began to amplify her ki many times over.

Regardless of where the power was coming from, Rei seized on to it and began to force the corruption from her body. The vein-like ridges covering her began to glow then fade. Once her body was purged, Rei forced her power out into Unit 00. The ridges that had formed on the Eva likewise began to glow and fade.

The angel realized that it was failing in its attack and tried to get away. It was too late though. Rei continued to force her power out into the angel itself before it could cut off the link it had been using in an effort to assimilate the Eva. The vein-like ridges now began to form on the angel as it writhed and thrashed to get free. It began to glow brighter and brighter until it shone like the sun. When the glow faded, it was gone.

"Way to go, Rei!" Ranma cheered. "Are you okay?"

"I am well," Rei said, smiling at her success, happy that she could remain with Ranma.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"What just happened?" Misato asked.

"Unit 00 just absorbed the angel," Ritsuko said in shock. "What is the status of Unit 00?"

"There's no trace of the corruption, Ma'am," Maya said. "It's like Rei turned the tables on the angel. Instead of it corrupting her, she corrupted it and absorbed it into Unit 00's body." She continued to study the telemetry and suddenly gasped. "That's not all, Ma'am! The sensors are reporting that Unit 00 now has an S2 organ as well!"

"Oh my god," Ritsuko gasped, completely floored by this development. "How is that possible?"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Up on the command balcony, Gendo was scowling behind his steepled hands. His plans were falling apart before him. He hadn't missed Rei's expression of love to the Second and Third Child. That was unacceptable. Unfortunately, now there was little he could do about it. Replacing her was no longer an option. How could this situation have developed right under his nose without him knowing about it?

He looked down into the command center and suddenly he had his answer. He glowered at the two women down there. Akagi and Katsuragi were responsible for this. There was no way he couldn't have known about it unless they were covering for the teens. The bitches were probably encouraging it the whole time. And Fuyutsuki; he was probably in on it too. He had been the one to destroy the clones, which left Gendo with no options in replacing Rei with another uncorrupted version.

He was surrounded with traitors. They had been working against him the whole time. Ever since the Third Child had arrived things hadn't been in his control. The boy had somehow corrupted them all and turned them against him. And now there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. SEELE was now suspicious of him. He didn't have enough time to develop new tools to institute his plan. He would have to play the hand he was dealt and pray that events would give him his precious Yui back.

Gendo realized that as much as he wanted to have the boy killed for threatening his plans, doing so would only serve to bring everything down around his ears. He still needed the boy and he could be used to assure Rei's cooperation. Others, however, had no such protection. Gendo scowled down at the two women that had hid this from him. They would pay for their disloyalty.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Things are not going according to the scenario," a monolith stated in a German accent.

"Yes, now another Evangelion has acquired an S2 organ," another monolith said angrily.

"Not only that, but the pilot somehow assimilated the angel," the German voice said.

"Gendo Ikari is out of control," a third monolith spoke up.

"We were unable to turn Fuyutsuki," said a monolith labeled SEELE 01 in the voice of chairman Keil. "We must find another cat's paw to use against Ikari."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Hey Doc," Ranma greeted as he entered Doctor Akagi's office.

"Oh, hello, Ranma," Ritsuko said in a subdued tone as she stared at her monitor.

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked. "You sound sad."

"I just got off the phone with my Grandmother," Ritsuko said. "She told me that my cat died."

"Aw, geez, that sucks," Ranma said sympathetically. "Is that your mom?"

Ritsuko looked away from her monitor to see Ranma standing behind her.

"Yes," Ritsuko answered. "And that's your father behind her."

"And you off to the side there," Ranma said. "You were cute with dark hair."

Ritsuko gave a sharp bitter laugh.

"Dr. Akagi, we have to talk," Ranma said seriously.

"What do you want to discuss, Ranma?" the blonde asked.

"Not here," Ranma said his eyes darting to the security camera.

"I'm very busy, Ranma," Ritsuko pointed out.

"I'm aware of that, Dr. Akagi," Ranma said formally. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"I see," Ritsuko said. She assumed it had something to do with his relationship with Rei. "Alright, I can spare a few minutes."

"Come with me," Ranma said. "We'll take a little walk."

Several minutes later, Ranma and Ritsuko were walking along the nature path in the geofront. Ranma stopped when they reached the garden that Kaji had planted.

"Wait here a minute," Ranma instructed.

Before she could reply, he vanished from sight. Several minutes later, he reappeared next to her startling her.

"Sorry, Doc," Ranma said apologetically. "I had to take care of some watchers. Now we can talk."

"What's so important that you dragged me out here?" Ritsuko asked.

"You remember when I told you to watch your back around Gendo?" Ranma asked.

"Yes," Ritsuko said.

"Well, now you need to be really careful, Ritsuko," Ranma said grimly. "Now that the cat's out of the bag with Rei and I, things are gonna get ugly. Gendo is about to throw you to the wolves when SEELE comes after him. SEELE is going to try to turn you by telling you some nasty things about the relationship between Gendo and your mother."

"Oh? And how do you know this?" Ritsuko asked.

"I know a lot more than I let on. I know what Gendo is planning," Ranma said. "I also know that he used your mother, much like he used you."

Ritsuko stiffened. How could Ranma know of her relationship with Gendo?

"I'm sorry, Ritsuko," Ranma said sadly. "I know you've started to see Gendo for the bastard he is and you aren't especially loyal to him. I'm also sorry about what happened to your mother. I intend to make the bastard pay for what he's done, for all the people he's hurt. Both he and SEELE are wrong and I plan to take them both down."

"Why are you telling me this? How can you know all this?" Ritsuko demanded.

"I'm telling you this because I need your help," Ranma said. "When the shit hits the fan, we'll need all the help we can get."

"We?" Ritsuko asked.

"Rei, Asuka, Misato, and I," Ranma said. "I'm hoping that we'll have the support of the JSDF when the time comes as well. I need your help too. I'm taking a big chance here, but I consider you a friend and I think I can trust you to help us make the bastard pay for what he did to your mother. Am I wrong? Can I trust you?"

"What if I say no?" Ritsuko said. "I won't be leaving here will I?"

"I'm not a cold-blooded killer, Ritsuko," Ranma said sadly. "I won't hurt you, but if it turns out that I can't trust you, and I will know no matter what you say, I'll have to turn you over to JSDF Intelligence. I understand they are currently hosting Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki as well."

"So that's what happened to him," Ritsuko smiled ruefully.

"Yeah, it was SEELE that originally abducted him, but Kaji got him out," Ranma explained.

"So what do you want me to do?" Ritsuko asked.

"Gendo is going to send you to SEELE when they demand to see Rei," Ranma explained. "They are gonna tell you terrible things in order to make you angry and turn on him. They have no idea that you ain't been especially loyal to Gendo for some time. I want you to go along with them. Let them think they've turned you. But I need you to control your anger. We're gonna get the bastard, but we have to do it right if we wanna stop SEELE as well. When you get back, we'll talk more about what we're gonna do."

"Alright, I'm in," Ritsuko agreed. "I still want to know how you know all this."

"That," Ranma smirked, "is a secret."

Ritsuko found herself pulling her face out of the dirt after a nasty face-fault. Ranma sweat-dropped and scratched the base of his pigtail in chagrin.

"Are you okay, Doc?" Ranma asked.

"That wasn't very nice, Ranma," Ritsuko said, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

"Um...sorry," Ranma said nervously.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Rei, how long has this been going on between you and the Third Child," Gendo interrogated the blue-haired girl standing before his desk.

"Ranma and myself have been dating since before the arrival of the Second Child," Rei said dispassionately.

"I see," Gendo said, fuming inside. "And why did you not tell me this?"

"It was felt that you would disapprove of our relationship," Rei informed him succinctly.

"So if you knew I would disapprove, then why did you proceed?" Gendo asked.

"Because Ranma made me...happy," Rei said.

"I see," Gendo said. "And if I ordered you not to see him anymore?"

"I would disregard such orders," Rei said flatly.

"I could prevent it, you know," Gendo pointed out.

"I do not believe that is true," Rei said. "Ranma would not allow it and you could not stop him short of killing one or both of us which you will not do."

"Are you so certain?" Gendo asked.

"I am," Rei said. "We are both necessary to your plans. Without us, you cannot achieve your goals."

Gendo glared at the girl. She, of all people, knew the truth of her words. He was impotent to threaten her though she was blatantly defying him to do so.

"If that is all, Ranma is waiting for me," Rei said, turning and walking out without bothering to wait for his leave.

Gendo sat silently at his desk for several minutes trying to master his anger. In the end, it was a futile effort and he surged to his feet and heaved his desk over in rage, scattering the few items that had been resting on it.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka was slowly improving. She was still depressed, but she was no longer retreating from those she loved. She was very subdued around others though.

Currently she was with Ranma and Rei out on a double date with Toji and Hikari. Toji had just gotten his casts off and they had all gone out to celebrate. They had had no trouble getting into the classy steakhouse even without reservations, since Tokyo 3 had become virtually deserted of late as more and more people fled the constant attacks.

"I really want to thank you, Asuka," Toji spoke up. "You saved my life. I know we haven't always been on good terms, but I want you to know, if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"That's right, Asuka," Hikari smiled. "You're a really great friend and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have my Toji."

"Thanks," Asuka said, flashing a weak smile before going back to staring at her plate.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hikari asked, concerned for her friend.

"Nothing," Asuka replied. "I'm just tired."

Ranma put his arm around her and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

"She's been having a hard time lately, but she's getting better," Ranma said.

"Really? Anything we can help with?" Hikari asked.

"No, I'll be fine, really. I just have to sort some stuff out, get my head on straight, you know," Asuka said.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here," Hikari offered.

"Thanks," Asuka said, her smile having a bit more warmth in it this time.

"So you guys wanna go play miniature golf after this?" Ranma asked.

"Um...Ranma, the miniature golf course was destroyed months ago," Hikari sweat-dropped.

"Oh...um...sorry," Ranma said sheepishly. "How about we visit the ice cream shop?"

"Closed down," Toji said. "Between the attacks and the money they were hemorrhaging due to a certain ice cream scamming trio, the owner decided to open up somewhere safer than Tokyo 3."

"No way!" Ranma said in horror. "No more ice cream?"

"Well, you can still buy it at the market, but the shop is gone," Toji said.

"That sucks," Ranma remarked bitterly. "Isn't there anything left to do around here?"

"Not much," Hikari said. "I'm sure things will return once the attacks stop."

"I guess," Ranma agreed.

"I think the bowling alley is still running," Toji suggested.

Ranma looked at him dryly.

"Do you seriously wanna see what I do to a bowling alley?" Ranma asked.

"Let me guess, you bowl a 300 every time," Toji deadpanned.

"Pretty much," Ranma nodded. "I tried it once. Wasn't much of a challenge. I had a tougher time not damaging the equipment than I did knocking the pins down."

"Why does this not surprise me?" Asuka asked, smiling for a change.

"Hey, it's not my fault they don't build the stuff to withstand a 16lb ball moving at 100 miles an hour," Ranma said defensively.

Hikari and Toji both sweat-dropped while Rei just sat there like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'd hate to see what you'd do with a baseball," Toji commented.

"They wouldn't let me play after I threw the ball to the first basemen and it broke his hand inside the glove," Ranma said sheepishly. "I also broke a lot of bats until I figured out to infuse them with my ki."

"Basketball?" Toji asked.

"They let me play that, but it wasn't much of a challenge," Ranma said. "Nobody could keep up with my speed and I could slam-dunk from mid court. They also let me play soccer too. That was a little more challenging."

"How about rugby?" Toji asked.

"I played that for a while, but it got really boring," Ranma sighed. "They put me in at the beginning until we got a good lead in points and then I'd get benched for the rest of the game so the other players could have a chance to do something."

Asuka rolled her eyes at this while Toji slapped his hand to his forehead and groaned. Hikari just blinked at him in dismay.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So did you have fun, Asuka-chan?" Ranma asked as they walked home, Rei clinging to one arm and Asuka on the other.

"Yeah, you were right," Asuka said grudgingly. "It was nice."

"I'm glad," Ranma smiled at her. "How about I give you both a nice, relaxing backrub when we get home?"

"That would please me," Rei agreed.

"You won't hear me turning that offer down," Asuka chimed in. "So how did the Commander react to the news that our Rei is no longer his little play toy?"

"He was displeased," Rei reported. "However, he will not come between us at the present time. I informed him that any attempt to do so would result in...unpleasant consequences."

"Whoa, way to go, Rei-chan," Asuka said, impressed to hear about Rei standing up to someone like that.

"I'm proud of you, Rei-chan," Ranma chuckled. "But you both know that we gotta be extra careful now. We gotta watch out for each other or the bastard'll try to use one of us to control the others. I love you guys and I don't want anything to happen to you."

The mood was slightly subdued after that. The trio continued home in silence, wordlessly enjoying each others company.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"So, Ranma talked to you?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

The blonde had just returned from her ordeal at the hands of SEELE. In spite of being prepared for it, Ritsuko was still seething and wracked with grief over what they had said to her. They had ruthlessly spelled out just how badly Gendo had used not only her, but her mother before her.

"Yes, he talked to me," Ritsuko spat bitterly, taking a large swallow of her drink. "And he was right, about everything."

"Yeah, it seems that way," Misato said, sipping her beer. "I don't know where he got his information, but everything he's told us is true. So you've decided to join the team?"

"I want to take that bastard down," Ritsuko snarled. "For what he did to my mother, I want to pull the trigger myself."

"I understand how you feel," Misato said. "I want them all to go down. My father would still be alive if it weren't for them. You'll probably have to get in line for a shot at Gendo though. I don't think there will be much left of him after Ranma gets through with him."

"As long as the filthy, manipulating bastard gets what's coming to him," Ritsuko growled, taking another long pull of booze.

"What you sow, so shall you reap," Misato said, holding up her beer.

Ritsuko clinked her glass against the beer bottle and the pair drank a toast to Gendo and SEELE's downfall.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Nabiki stopped the tape and shook her head in amazement. She couldn't believe this was the same Ranma that vanished from here barely a week ago. Not only did he seem to be masterminding a complex plan against expert manipulators, his handling of the situation with Asuka showed more sensitivity than she would have thought him capable of in her wildest dreams.

"Why the hell did he let us treat him like we did if he's that capable?" Nabiki wondered out loud.

"That's not so hard to figure out," Cologne grinned. "The simple fact is, he was so starved for acceptance, he was willing to forgive huge transgressions against him to get it. He never had a chance to have any normal friends before and since he came here, the attacks on him or those around him have isolated him from anyone but us. Normal people simply don't want to get pulled into the intense martial arts battles we experience regularly."

"If he had treated me as nice as he does Asuka, I wouldn't have hit him so much," Akane complained.

"Why would he, Akane?" Nabiki drawled. "You never gave him a chance."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Akane demanded.

"You're the one that offered him friendship, but as soon as you found out about the curse, you attacked him, calling him a pervert and a freak," Nabiki explained. "It's a wonder he came to care about you as much as he did. You can't expect him to be as compassionate toward you as he is to Asuka when you constantly go around insulting him and questioning his honor."

"But...but..." Akane tried to argue but then just sighed. "At least he appreciated when I helped him with the weakness Moxibustion."

"I hope you all appreciate the fact that if he returns, he probably won't put up with the shenanigans he ignored before," Cologne said, looking at each person in the room meaningfully, especially the fathers.

"The boy will do as I tell him," Genma insisted.

"Don't bet on it, Sugar," Ukyo snapped. "You'll probably be the first person he goes after."

"And if he doesn't, then I will," Nodoka spoke up with iron in her voice. "If my son returns, Husband, you will no longer leave him to fix the problems you created. In fact, I intend to repudiate any and all engagements made on Ranma's behalf."

"Ranma will marry Akane!" Genma bellowed. "It's a matter of honor!"

"Don't try that foolishness with me, Husband," Nodoka hissed. "What of Miss Kuonji's honor? What of the honor of all the other families you engaged Ranma to? You have broken our family honor many times over when it suited you. You no longer have a right to claim any."

"But Nodoka..." Genma started.

"But nothing, Husband," Nodoka said. "Until you fix the mess you made, Ranma will not be obligated to marry anyone. I suggest you start thinking about how you're going to fix things."

Nabiki smirked as she watched Genma begin to sweat under the weight of Nodoka's glare.

"Oh my, I'm so glad that sweet Rei girl managed to survive," Kasumi said, causing everyone to blink as she expertly broke the tension with the apparent non sequitur. "Poor Ranma would have been so heartbroken if she had died."

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	17. Chapter 17

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**Chapter 17 **

"This is the last tape," Nabiki pointed out. "We should find out what becomes of Ranma on this one. What say we go ahead and watch it tonight?"

It was pretty much a unanimous vote in favor of watching the final tape right away.

"Great Grandmother, how long you think it take Airen to return after tape watched?" Shampoo asked.

"I don't know child," Cologne said. "I guess if he comes back at all it will be up to the whim of Bastet-sama."

"I just hope it ends better," Akane said. "I never liked either ending of the original Evangelion."

"Yeah the TV series ending was just lame," Nabiki agreed. "The movie was better, but it was a real downer. If nothing else, Ranma is bound to improve that part. He's nothing if not exciting."

"Got that right, Sugar," Ukyo said. "Can we start the tape now?"

"Alright, alright, keep your shirt on," Nabiki quipped.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"The Fifth Child will be arriving soon," Misato mentioned to Hyuga and Ritsuko as they sat with each other in one of the few cafes still open.

"Does Asuka know he's coming to replace her?" Ritsuko asked.

"That won't be necessary," Misato said.

"Why not?" Ritsuko asked.

"I don't expect the Fifth Child to be around very long," Misato smirked.

"Explain that, please," Ritsuko said, perplexed.

"Well, sources say..." Misato began to explain.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"You guys sure you want to be here?" Ranma asked again as he, Asuka and Rei walked through the park. "I'd feel better if you were home."

"There's no way we're letting you do this alone, Variable-chan," Asuka said in irritation.

"Asuka is correct," Rei said. "Prudence dictates that you have backup. You, yourself, told us that we shouldn't go anywhere alone now that the Commander is aware of our situation. I fail to see where this does not apply to you as well."

Ranma sighed.

"I know you guys can take care of yourselves," Ranma said carefully. "It's just that if it comes down to a fight, I'd feel better if I knew you were safe and didn't have to worry about you accidentally getting' hit by a stray ki blast or something."

"Well, we're not sitting at home like some demure, little housewives while you go off to fight an angel, Idiot," Asuka snapped.

Ranma smiled. He was very glad to see that Asuka had almost made a complete recovery and was nearly back to her old self. Those hours of meditation, along with his and Rei's ever-present support, had paid off.

"I guess that's the price I have to pay since I couldn't handle being in love with a demure, little housewife," Ranma chuckled.

Both girls smirked.

Suddenly, Ranma heard whistling. Pausing, he looked around. He spotted the silver-haired boy leaning casually against a tree whistling 'Ode to Joy'.

"I like that song," the boy said. "Truly, singing is one of the greatest gifts to come from you Lillum. Raise your voice in song and your heart will be lifted too. Don't you agree, Ranma Ikari?"

"I might, depending on who's singing, Kaoru Nagisa," Ranma replied.

"I see you know who I am," the boy said pleasantly. "I have arrived to be the replacement pilot for Unit 02."

"I know what you're here for and I doubt very much if you could replace Asuka-chan," Ranma snorted. "You just don't have the metal to fill her shoes."

"Why would you say that?" Kaoru asked. "You haven't even seen me pilot yet."

"Don't need to," Ranma smirked. "I can already tell you don't got what it takes."

"I'm hurt," Kaoru said. "I thought you'd be nicer."

Ranma shrugged.

"I probably would be to someone who wasn't here to wipe out all life on this planet," Ranma said conversationally.

"So you know why I'm here as well," Kaoru said, mildly surprised.

"Yup, and I'm here to see that you don't see the inside of NERV," Ranma said.

"I see. So you intend to have it out man to man, as it were?" Kaoru asked.

"As it were," Ranma agreed. "Consider yourself challenged. Right here, right now. Winner takes all, loser goes back to whatever hell spawned him."

"My, aren't we dramatic," Kaoru giggled.

"It's a dramatic moment," Ranma shrugged.

"I suppose it's only fair to tell you that I have far more power than you," Kaoru said. "You would need an Eva to defeat me."

"I suppose I should tell you that you're hopelessly out-classed in skill," Ranma countered, "and I don't need an Eva to take you down."

"We shall see, Ranma Ikari," Kaoru said pleasantly. "But before we begin our battle, please introduce me to your friends."

"This is Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami," Ranma said, indicating each girl respectively.

"And will they too be participating in our battle?" Kaoru asked.

"They are here to ensure that nobody interferes," Ranma said. "Otherwise they will only be observing your beat-down. They haven't seen me fight without holding back, you see. They wanted a demonstration of what a high-end martial artist is capable of."

"A martial artist, you say?" Kaoru asked, intrigued. "Only you Lillum would make an art out of a thing like war. I look forward to seeing your art, Ranma."

"I'll try to make it impressive since it's the last thing you're gonna see," Ranma said. "Now are you done yappin' so we can get this over with? I'm normally not eager to hurt someone, but I know that only your death will guarantee the safety of the life on this planet."

"That is true," Kaoru said. "If it's any consolation, my death is the only thing that will prevent me from reaching my goal."

"I figured," Ranma nodded. "Then get ready."

"You may attack whenever you are prepared," Kaoru smiled, merely standing with his hands in his pockets.

"Yo, I hate to break this to ya, but if you plan on hiding behind your AT barrier, you're gonna lose," Ranma pointed out.

"So you know about that?" Kaoru asked. "But do you really know what it is? You Lillum don't understand. What you call an AT field is really the barrier that contains the power of my soul."

"You're wrong," Ranma smirked. "We call it ki, or our life force. Most people don't believe in it, but all high-level martial artists have learned to harness that energy to some degree. Some of us more than others."

Ranma blurred from sight only to reappear with his foot extended head level in a side-kick that would have taken Kaoru's head off if his AT barrier hadn't stopped it.

"I must admit, Ranma, you are certainly fast," Kaoru smiled. "But as you can see, it won't do you any good."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Ranma smirked. "If the AT barrier is all ya got, then you're seriously screwed."

Ranma lowered his foot and held up his hand. Four blades of blue-gold energy formed, extending from each knuckle. Ranma made a casual swipe at Kaoru's AT barrier. The silver-haired boy's crimson eyes widened as four slashes gaped in the reddish barrier.

"Wha-how?" Kaoru stammered, his cool demeanor breaking.

"Now ya understand how out-classed you are?" Ranma smirked like a cat toying with its prey.

What followed wasn't pretty. Kaoru found himself unexpectedly on the receiving end of a horrible beat-down. Every time he attempted to use his AT barrier to protect himself, Ranma would use his Nekoken claws to rip it to shreds. The silver-haired boy had even attempted his levitation ability to try and evade Ranma's attacks. The first two times, Ranma used the trees to jump high enough to drive the Fifth Child back to the ground in a most abrupt way. Finally, Kaoru rose up high enough that Ranma couldn't get to him.

"It seems we have reached an impasse, Ranma," the battered Kaoru shouted down at him. "I cannot match you down there, but you cannot get to me up here."

"Are you sure of that?" Ranma smirked.

"Unless you have some ability I have yet to see," Kaoru called back down.

"I've got loads of abilities you haven't seen," Ranma laughed. "Try this one. KIJIN RAISHU DAN!"

Ranma launched two vacuum blades of inverted ki at the floating, silver-haired boy. Kaoru made no effort to avoid them as none of Ranma's other ranged attacks had penetrated his AT barrier. Thus he was quite shocked when the two blades passed right through the barrier followed by his torso, neatly quartering his body in a spray of red mist.

As body parts rained down, Ranma looked away from the grisly scene. For the first time he noticed the audience that had gathered, made up of NERV security personnel. Rei and Asuka stood nearby. Rei appeared unphased by Kaoru's gruesome end, but Asuka was looking decidedly ill. Ranma approached them.

"I'm really sorry ya had to see that," Ranma said sadly. "That's part of the reason I wanted ya safe at home. I didn't have a choice though. If he had allowed me to beat him into submission, I'd have used a pressure point technique to stop his heart, giving him a quick, clean end."

"You did what was necessary," Rei assured him.

"That was awful, Variable-chan," Asuka said, "but Rei's right. You had to stop him before he killed us all."

"Doesn't mean I'm proud of it," Ranma said. "Killing is something I've been against nearly all my life. Destroying those weird monsters is one thing, but Kaoru could have been a person."

"Do not let his appearance fool you, Ranma," Rei spoke. "Kaoru Nagisa was as much a monster as any of the other angels that have threatened our world. His goal was nothing less than the extinction of all people. That is what made him a monster." Rei stepped forward and hugged Ranma. "You have a gentle heart, Koi. That is why I love you."

"What she said," Asuka chimed in and joined the embrace.

Ranma just stood there quietly absorbing the comfort the girls were offering him. It reassured him to remind himself that because of what he had just had to do, they would live.

"So that was the 17th angel?" Misato asked as she and Ritsuko walked up.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "One more to go, well, maybe two more if you count Gendo."

Ritsuko snickered.

"I wonder what he'd think if he heard his own son calling him an angel," Ritsuko asked.

"The bastard would probably be flattered," Misato answered.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Ranma asked.

"We detected his AT field," Ritsuko informed him. "When we tried to call you guys in, the girls explained you had already engaged the angel without an Eva. Naturally, we had to see that so we rushed right out."

"You were awesome, Ranma," Misato said. "This was the least destructive angel battle there has been. I'm proud of you."

"I'm not," Ranma sighed. "But I can deal with it."

"Well, let's go get the debriefing over with and you can all go home and relax," Misato suggested.

"Good idea," Asuka said, much to the agreement of Ranma and Rei.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"All the pieces are in place," Hyuga commented to Ranma as they walked though the corridors of NERV. "We've spent the last week positioning the assets so we'll be ready when the time comes."

"Good," Ranma said. "Have you been able to find out anything on SEELE's timetable?"

"Our sources say soon, but they couldn't give us a solid date," Hyuga said. "They're reporting that the UN is moving a lot more men and equipment into Japan, mostly infantry reinforced by light tanks and IFV's (Infantry Fighting Vehicles)."

"Okay," Ranma nodded. "The girls and I are ready. You guys just watch each other's backs. This is gonna get ugly, real ugly."

"Will do," Hyuga said. "You guys be careful too."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"This is unbelievable," a SEELE monolith exclaimed. "How is it possible that the Third Child defeated the 17th angel in bare-handed combat?"

"Perhaps he isn't human? Perhaps this is more of Gendo's duplicity, cloning another child using angel DNA?" the German accented monolith suggested.

"Impossible," Keil spoke. "I was there when Yui Ikari gave birth to him."

"But if he is human, what of our plans?" another monolith spoke. "Is the Third Child not the embodiment of the goal we seek? Bringing mankind to the next stage in human evolution?"

"No," Keil said firmly. "Our goal goes far beyond merely an exceptionally powerful normal human."

"Then what are we going to do about Ikari?" the German monolith demanded.

"Steps have been taken to remove Gendo Ikari and bring NERV Tokyo's assets back into SEELE control," Keil stated. "The pieces are in place and are awaiting the execution orders."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Soon Yui," Gendo said to the massive visage of Unit 01. "You must wait just a little bit longer, but we are close to achieving our dreams. Please be patient for just a little bit longer."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka and Rei walked in the room where Ranma sat having a snack before bed. The pigtailed martial artist inexplicably felt a shiver run down his spine when the two girls bracketed him on either side, both wearing determined looks and not much else.

"Should I get some cold water?" Ranma laughed nervously.

"That won't be necessary," Rei replied.

"Huh?" Ranma sweated.

"Rei and I have discussed this. You think our time together is almost over," Asuka said. "You could be taken back to your reality at any time after SEELE attacks, which could be any day now. We've decided that tonight you're going to make love to us as a man."

"We do not wish to lose you without having expressed our love for you in this manner," Rei stated.

"But what if...?" Ranma started to ask but was interrupted.

"What if we get pregnant?" Asuka asked with a grin. "Well, then if you get taken from us, at least we have a little piece of you with us all the time, and it will hardly be a problem before SEELE attacks. Besides, Liebling, we already know you know how to make a girl feel good as a girl. Are you saying you're not man enough to do it as a man?"

No further persuading was necessary after that as Ranma took the challenge to his manhood and ran with it, resulting in two very exhausted, very happy, and moderately sore girls. Ranma would have gloated about them passing out before him had he not looked like a victim of Miss Hinako's ki draining attack. Still, Ranma reflected, the experience was utterly incredible. Not better than as a girl, but not any worse either. As a guy it was more intense. As a girl, she had more erogenous zones and the climaxes were more involved and longer lasting. It all balanced out.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma took out his cell phone as it began to ring while he and Rei walked through the nature trails. The caller ID said the call came from Asuka, whom they were waiting for while she got a checkup from Dr. Akagi.

"Hey, Koi," Ranma said, answering the phone.

"If you're concerned for the Second Child's wellbeing, you will bring Rei to me right now," Gendo said in a gloating tone.

"What have you done with her, you filthy bastard?" Ranma hissed. "If she's hurt, your life won't be worth spit."

"The brat is perfectly fine for the moment," Gendo said. "Should you like to keep it that way, you will do as I say. Report to my office...now."

Ranma was growling when he crushed the phone in his hand.

"What is wrong, Love?" Rei asked.

"Gendo...he's got Asuka and he says if we don't want her hurt we have to go to him," Ranma snarled.

Rei immediately pulled out her phone and called Misato as they headed toward Gendo's office.

"It has begun," Rei simply said calmly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

As soon as she got off the phone with Rei, Misato surreptitiously activated a small transmitter that sent a prearranged signal to the company of JSDF troops hidden inside the Geo-front. It let them know to move into position and prepare for the coming assault.

Misato nodded to Ritsuko and quietly let Hyuga know what was happening. Hyuga began to quietly lock down the facility, sealing all the blast doors and access points possible to make it as difficult as possible for the opposing forces.

"Here we go," Ritsuko said as she and Maya began typing furiously at their terminals. "The Magi are under attack. Someone is trying to hack in and open us up!"

"Right," Misato said. "Do what you can to stop them. Aoba, sound the alert, we are under attack."

"Yes, Ma'am," the longhaired man acknowledged, turning on the warning klaxons and the PA. "Attention all NERV personnel, we are under attack by unknown forces, repeat, we are under attack. All personnel to alert stations. This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill!"

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Outside, a black shrouded figure silently slipped up behind a NERV security guard posted at one of the entrances to the Geo-front. The figure slipped a garrote around the guard's neck and swiftly took him out. Several other black-shrouded figures carrying submachine guns and other equipment appeared.

Unfortunately for them, their stealth approach was wasted. The doors into the Geo-front should have been open so they could slip inside by now. Instead, they were still locked down tight. One of the men moved forward and attached a breeching charge to one of the doors and then faded back with his comrades.

The device detonated, blowing the heavy reinforced steel door open. The invaders charged through the opening and swiftly made there way down the corridor.

Similar scenes were happening at various other entry points around the Geo-front. It wasn't long before each of the invaders found the surprise the defenders had waiting for them.

As soon as the invaders appeared, JSDF forces dressed in NERV security uniforms opened fire on them. The attackers soon found themselves outgunned since instead of handguns and a few submachine guns, they found themselves facing a fully equipped combat unit with M-249 SAW machineguns, M-16's equipped with M-203 40mm grenade launchers, and heavier M-240 7.62mm machineguns.

The invaders pulled back under a withering amount of suppressing fire laid down by the well-equipped defending forces.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Gendo ignored the alarms as he led Rei and Ranma to Terminal Dogma.

"SEELE is too late," Gendo laughed as they entered the chamber containing the white body of the second angel, Lilith, suspended from a cross in the middle of a pool of LCL. "It is time to finally bring all my plans to fruition!"

The bearded man stepped towards Rei, but Ranma stepped between them.

"I ain't gonna let you do it, Old Man," Ranma growled. "You're not getting near Rei."

"If you value the life of the Second Child, you will step out of the way," Gendo threatened.

"Are you friggin' stupid, Old Man?" Ranma asked incredulously. "Do you honestly think I don't know what you have planned? If I let you do what you plan on doin', Asuka is dead anyway, as is Rei and everyone else on this planet. I know you intend to initiate the Third Impact, and I'm gonna stop ya."

"I think not," Gendo sneered, pulling out his pistol. "Now stand aside!"

"You know I can take that from you and shove it where the sun don't shine before you could even think about stopping me," Ranma said calmly.

"You might be able to dodge the bullet, but then the bullet would be heading right for Rei," Gendo said smugly. "I doubt you'd want her to get hit."

"Are you willing to take that chance?" Ranma asked menacingly.

The pair stared at each other, neither willing to be the first to blink. Then it happened. Gendo pulled the trigger. Ranma twisted out of the path of the bullet and launched a spinning back kick at Gendo which was stopped by the sudden appearance of an AT field barrier. A quick glance at Rei revealed that Rei had used her own AT barrier to stop the bullet from hitting her.

Then the fight was on.

"You wanted to see the Nekoken, Old Man," Ranma growled, baring his fangs. "Well, you're gonna get to see it real close now."

With that, Ranma exploded into motion as Gendo fired his pistol at Ranma while alternately trying to defend against Ranma's attacks with the AT barrier that was being generated by Adam, which was grafted to his hand. As swiftly as it started, it was over. Ranma fired a vacuum blade that tore through the barrier and severed Gendo's arm at the elbow.

Gendo screamed in pain and dropped his gun.

"I won't lose now!" Gendo screamed. "Not when I'm so close to having Yui back!"

With that, Gendo grabbed up his severed arm and charged toward Rei, intent on forcing Adam into her. At the last moment, Ranma leaped between them. Both Ranma and Gendo's face took on a look of shock as the angel sunk into the pigtailed martial artist's chest.

Ranma felt his ki gutter for a moment, then suddenly an intense pillar of energy burst from him, shooting toward the ceiling of the chamber. Gendo was instantly incinerated as if caught in a nuclear blast. The only thing that spared Rei was her AT barrier.

The pillar rocketed up through the roof of the chamber and rose high into the air above Tokyo-3, forming a cross-shape in the air.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma found himself on a desolate plain of blasted rocks and sand that had been turned to glass. In front of him was an indistinct figure that resembled an Eva, except it was his size.

"Join with me," the figure said.

"Who the hell are you?" Ranma demanded.

"I am the one you call Adam," the figure said. "Join with me."

"Not a chance," Ranma denied.

"Then you will be destroyed and I will take your body to complete my purpose," Adam said.

"You can try, but Ranma Ikari doesn't lose," Ranma smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Game on, Asshole."

Ranma immediately found himself on the defensive as Adam's arms shot out, lengthening grotesquely as Unit 03's had done. Easily avoiding them, Ranma lashed out with his Nekoken claws but was surprised to find them ineffective. He dodged several more arm strikes and then darted in to go on the offensive.

The pigtailed martial artist unleashed a Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken on Adam's torso and sent the glowing, indistinct being flying backward and skidding across the blasted terrain on its back. Adam rose to his feet, seemingly unharmed.

"You are impressively powerful for a Lillum," the angel observed.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Ranma blustered.

He was, however, getting a little nervous. Adam had taken everything Ranma had thrown at him thus far, including the Nekoken claws, and didn't seem phased. Ranma slipped into a defensive stance as he watched the angel come at him again.

Again, he dodged as the arms shot out at him. Bouncing around the landscape, he observed Adam for some clue as he evaded the angel's attacks. The angel appeared to be made of a glowing white mist, devoid of any features, yet Ranma's blows had hit something substantial. Jumping out of range, Ranma fired a Mouko Takabisha, probing to find a weakness.

The ball of golden energy streaked in and burst against an AT barrier. However, Ranma noticed a brief red glow come from the slightly darkened spot on Adam's torso. Suddenly, it hit Ranma; the dark spot was the angel's core!

Smirking, Ranma leaped in, preparing an assault against the core only to find himself slammed to the ground violently.

"Did you think we could not learn, Lillum?" Adam laughed.

Ranma dragged himself to his feet, somewhat stunned from the blow. He realized that the angel had used its barrier like a giant flyswatter to swat him down. Then he was back on the defensive again, dodging Adam's arms.

Growling in a feral manner, Ranma launched a vacuum blade at Adam. Adam put up the AT barrier but the blade passed through it and then neatly separated the top left portion of Adam's torso from the base of the neck to the left armpit. The severed portion exploded into white mist before reforming as if nothing had happened.

"No way!" Ranma snarled in dismay.

"You begin to understand, Lillum," Adam's voice mocked him. "You cannot defeat me. Surrender and join with me."

"I ain't never met no one that couldn't be defeated," Ranma shouted defiantly. "You're goin' down, Mist-for-brains!"

Slowly, a plan began to percolate to the surface of Ranma's mind.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka slowly struggled to consciousness. Her eyes flickered open and she looked around groggily. She quickly recognized she was in her Eva.

"How did I get here?" Asuka muttered, forcing herself to become more alert.

She could hear what sounded like muffled explosions from outside. Reaching down for the controls, she powered up the Eva and gasped. The exterior views showed she had been submerged underwater.

"Um...Misato? Anyone?" Asuka said, keying the comm.

"Asuka? Is that you?" Misato's voice came back. "Where are you?"

"I'm in my Eva," Asuka answered. "I just woke up here. What's going on?"

There was a pause as Misato talked to Hyuga before coming back.

"Asuka, NERV is under attack," Misato said. "So far we've managed to keep their infantry pinned down, but they are trying to breech the vehicle access points so they can get their mechanized units inside. You're currently submerged in a lake just outside the Geo-front. We need you to take out their mechanized forces. Can you do that?"

"Roger, no problem, Misato," Asuka said in a determined voice. "I guess it's time to quit sandbagging on my sync ratio then?"

"Affirmative, this is the big one, Asuka," Misato agreed.

"Rei and Ranma?" Asuka asked.

"They are with Gendo," Misato said. "Since the Third Impact hasn't begun yet, I assume they are okay for now."

"Roger," Asuka smiled. "Well, good luck to you guys. Stay safe. I've got work to do."

"Good luck to you too, Asuka," Misato replied.

Asuka looked up and saw a ship burning above her. She maneuvered the Eva around so that when she stood it would be right over top of her. As she stood, she caught the hull of the ship and lifted it clear of the water holding it over her head. Instantly, she came under fire from the light tanks that lined the roadway next to the lake. Their shells detonated harmlessly against Unit 02's red armor.

Asuka smirked and heaved the ship at them, taking a good number of them out in a massive explosion. She then leapt out of the lake into the midst of the vehicles, wracking havoc among them as she kicked them into each other like exploding soccer balls.

A rocket attack exploding against her back made Asuka turn around to see several VTOL's attacking her. Leaping toward them she smacked one out of the air and grabbed the tail section of another, tossing it into still another one. All exploded into fireballs. Turning again, she saw five more coming in firing wildly. Asuka shoved out with her AT barrier, allowing the ordinance to detonate harmlessly against it before it struck the VTOL's and blew them to pieces as well.

Turning again, she launched a spinning back kick at another VTOL followed by an ax kick to a second. The few remaining aircraft suddenly pulled back.

"That's what I thought," Asuka said smugly, squaring her Eva's shoulders and turned toward the next group of enemy forces.

Just as she turned, she caught a cruise missile to the head. Sensing a second coming in, she put her hand up to catch it a heartbeat later. Both missiles detonated.

The ground forces were about to breath a sigh of relief when the red Eva strode unscathed from the cloud of smoke and fire.

Suddenly, a huge cross-shaped pillar of energy rose into the air. The sight of it made Asuka's blood run cold as a feeling of dread suffused her.

"RANMA!" Asuka screamed in anguish, somehow knowing the energy had something to do with her loves' battle. She turned and began to run to the nearest point of entry to the Geo-front. She had to get in there to help Ranma and Rei.

"Asuka, you have incoming," Misato said urgently. "Nine contacts inbound. They appear to be Eva units. Probably the production series SEELE was working on."

All at once, Asuka was filled with a terrible rage. These bastards were going down and everyone else better pray that Ranma was okay.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma smirked as he faced Adam. He had a plan now and this angel was going down. Ranma spat some blood on the ground from the beating he had taken to test certain aspects of his plan and give Adam a false sense of security. Now it was Ranma's turn to dish out some punishment. He gathered his energies and prepared his assault.

"KIJIN RAISHU DAN REVISED: TENKAZE!" Ranma yelled and began to fire off a score of vacuum blades at Amaguriken speeds.

Adam smugly took them and was quickly dismembered. The severed parts turned to mist and began to reform as before, but this time, Ranma followed them in. Adam was helpless to do anything as his limbs were reforming and Ranma capitalized. With the quick use of the Nekoken claws, a moment later Ranma had torn out Adam's core. Tossing the red sphere in the air, the pigtailed warrior fired a Mouko Takabisha. The golden energy struck the red sphere and exploded spectacularly. Adam's body dissolved to mist, which was quickly scattered to the four winds.

The threat gone, Ranma collapsed to the ground, exhausted and hurting from the beating he had taken. His eyes drifted closed as consciousness fled him.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Ranma," a voice called to him urgently. "Ranma, please awaken. I require your assistance."

Ranma felt himself being shaken and his eyes flickered open to see Rei's crimson orbs looking down at him with concern.

"Ranma, are you well?" Rei asked.

"I-I think so," Ranma said, doing a quick scan of his body, surprised at what he found. "Not only am I good, I don't think I've ever felt this strong before. My ki feels boundless."

"I believe you have acquired Adam's S2 organ," Rei explained.

"How long was I out?" Ranma asked.

"You were unresponsive for several minutes," Rei answered. "Come, we must go. Asuka needs us. SEELE's Evas are attacking."

"Shit!" Ranma said leaping to his feet. "Let's go!"

"Major Katsuragi says our Eva's are waiting for us," Rei said as she and Ranma ran through the corridors.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Asuka was in the zone. Consumed in a blood frenzy, she was tearing into the white Evas like a scythe through wheat. The German redhead was literally tearing them apart with a frightening ferocity. She had already crushed the head of one and then broke its body. Four more had been carved to pieces by their own massive blade weapons, but her power cable had been severed in the fight.

One had fallen when it managed to pin her down. Asuka used an integral weapons system that she hadn't ever had the chance to use before. Her pylons opened up and a set of massive spikes shot out, embedding themselves into the head of the Eva attacking her. Asuka picked it up and threw it at the next attacker before charging them both and burying her fist through both their torsos.

Her battle awareness, which Ranma had trained into her and honed to a razor edge, made her look over to see one of the remaining Eva's had thrown its massive weapon at her. Asuka ripped her arm free of the two Evas it had impaled and directed her AT barrier between her and the thrown weapon. It was then that the oddest thing happened.

The huge double ended blade struck the AT field and it changed. Suddenly, it was a familiar-looking two-tined spear. Asuka's eyes widened in surprise as the weapon tried to force its way through her AT field. Then to Asuka's horror, her battery power ran out, dropping her straining AT barrier and allowing the lance through. The lance buried itself in Unit 02's eyes and exploded out of the back of the Eva's skull.

Asuka screamed in agony as her left eye exploded from the neural feedback she received with her sync ratio well over 100 percent. Her back arched up off the seat as she clamped her hand over her destroyed eye.

Unit 02 fell over backwards but didn't fall as the end of the lance held it off the ground. Slowly, the damaged white Evas began to regenerate themselves around the red Eva. Soon they were nearly completely healed and as one took to the air before descending on the fallen Unit 02 like a pack of vultures. They ripped into Unit 02's torso armor and then the Eva's exposed innards, ripping and shredding them before taking flight again leaving Unit 02 a grisly disemboweled mess.

It was this scene Ranma and Rei arrived on the surface to see. The blue Evas ran at full speed toward their fallen comrade and saw Unit 02 raise its hand skyward. Then eight more lances streaked down to impale the stricken Eva.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"ASUKA!" Ranma screamed as he reached the surface just in time to see the white Evas take flight, dragging the entrails of Unit 02 upward with them until they snapped. "NO!" he shouted in denial as the lances rained down on the eviscerated Eva even as he ran toward it.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

On the surface of the moon, the Lance of Longinus quivered and began to glow where it was thrust upright in the lunar surface. Suddenly, its form changed to a bolt of pure energy and it streaked back toward Earth.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

Ranma didn't even notice when the Lance of Longinus appeared in his hand. All he knew was the white Evas were as good as dead for what they had done to Asuka. He barely noticed that one of them had already paid the price when the returning Lance skewered it through the core in a gory explosion of body parts and blood before it reached Ranma.

Without hesitating Ranma heaved the weapon once again into the air toward another of the airborne foes. As the Lance became an energy bolt once more, Rei reached Unit 02 and swiftly pulled a lance from the stricken Eva's body before launching it skyward.

Ranma's target exploded messily while Rei's plummeted to Earth with the copy of Adam's weapon embedded in its core. The other enemy Evas descended to the ground to fight the newcomers.

The fight was as short as it was shockingly brutal. Ranma had vaporized one of the remaining white Evas with a super-powered Mouko Takabisha and literally ripped three more apart with his claws. Rei accounted for two others with surgically precise strikes of the Lance that Ranma had tossed her when it had returned to his hand.

The last body hadn't hit the ground before Ranma was running toward Unit 02. He ripped the cover off the entry plug insertion point and carefully removed the plug, laying it gently on the ground before ejecting his own plug. Leaping to the ground, he sprinted to Asuka's entry plug and ripped it open.

Ranma was horrified when he got a look at Asuka. Her left eye was a gory mess and she was bleeding from several places where she had taken sympathetic wounds that matched the places the lances had pierced her Eva because of her high sync ratio and the properties of the lances. Cradling her in his arms, Ranma extracted her from the entry plug and carried her a short distance away before laying her out on the ground.

Her ki was very weak and becoming weaker as he watched. She wasn't breathing and he couldn't find a pulse. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his beloved die before him.

"Ranma," Rei said, appearing across from Asuka's body, "we can save her, but we don't have much time."

"H-how?" Ranma sobbed out.

"We have to let our energy flow into her and direct it into regenerating the damage her body has sustained," Rei explained. She picked up Asuka's hand. "Take her hand and with your other hand take mine. This will complete the circle."

Ranma did as he was instructed, instinctually knowing what to do thanks to the remnants of Adam still within him. He let his ki flow into both Rei and Asuka while Rei did the same. Slowly the trio began to glow and Asuka's ki grew stronger. Soon her wounds began to fade and her eye reformed as her body rebuilt itself.

Suddenly, Asuka's body convulsed as she sucked in a deep breath. Her eyes popped open wide in surprise.

"Oh thank the Kami!" Ranma gasped and grabbed the redhead in a tight embrace. A smiling Rei quickly joined the hug and the three teens held each other and cried.

"How do you feel, Asuka-chan," Rei asked.

"I-I feel...great," Asuka stammered. "My eye...h-how?"

"We healed you, Koi," Ranma said with a tender smile. "We couldn't bear to lose you."

"Something else has occurred," Rei commented.

The pair looked at her questioningly.

"Sense your ki, Love," Rei smiled.

"I-it's enormous," Asuka said in awe after closing her eyes and focusing inwardly. "W-what happened?"

"We are bonded now," Rei answered. "Ranma and I both have S2 organs, making our ki nearly inexhaustible. Through the bond, you can now draw ki from us as if you had your own S2 organ."

"She's right," Ranma said in surprise. "I can feel it. I can feel the bond with both of you."

The trio returned to their embrace and held each other happily, reveling in each other's presence, knowing the others were healthy and profoundly happy.

That's how Misato and the others found them. The trio was quickly informed that the UN forces that SEELE had sent against them were defeated and that Kaji, together with several international law enforcement and intelligence agencies were taking the members of SEELE into custody.

"Where's Ritsuko?" Ranma asked.

Misato looked down, blinking back her tears.

"S-she didn't make it," Misato said softly, grieving for her lost friend.

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

"One of SEELE's assassins made it to the command center," Misato said. "He was about to open fire on me when Ritsuko jumped in front of me. She took a burst in the chest and died instantly, but it gave me time to return fire. He didn't outlive her long."

Misato's grief choked off anything else as she began to cry in anguish. Ranma took her in his arms and held her. He was joined shortly after by Rei and Asuka.

"I'm so sorry, Misato," Ranma said comfortingly. "She was my friend too."

"S-she was a hero," Misato sobbed. "I'll miss her so much."

"I will too," Ranma said, tears running down his own face. "She will be remembered."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The credits began to roll on the screen as the last scene faded away. Nabiki stopped the tape and began to rewind it. Kasumi was busy passing a box of tissues around as several sniffles were heard from around the table.

"Aiya, that was too too sad," Shampoo said softly. "Who knew Blonde-genius-woman have it in her to die warrior's death?"

"Yeah, but I'm just glad Asuka lived," Ukyo said. "Ranma would have been devastated if she hadn't. Ritsuko's death hurt him enough."

"At least it ended better than the original," Akane pointed out.

"Now that this is over, when do you suppose my son will return?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes, we must know so that we can plan for the foolish boy's wedding immediately upon his return," Genma said.

"Quite right, Old Friend," Soun chimed in.

"You fools just don't get it, do you?" Nodoka hissed. "Ranma is marrying nobody until Genma cleans up the mess he made of my son's life! That's if he returns at all. Elder, do you have any idea when that might be?"

"I'm sorry, Child," Cologne said. "It could be any time now, or he could be gone for the same period of time that elapsed during his adventure in that other world. I suppose it's up to the Kami."

After some discussion, it was decided that either Ranma would return by morning, or they would have to wait the year or so that elapsed in the NGE world before Ranma returned to them, if at all. It was also agreed that the Amazons and Ukyo would stay over at the Tendo home should Ranma be returned to them by morning.

**(oO\O/Oo)**


	18. Chapter 18

_**The Wild Horse Thesis**_

_By __**Calamity Cordite**_

_Developed by __**Calamity Cordite and James R. Axelrad**_

_Edited by __**James R. Axelrad and Weebee**_

**AN:** _Thanks for all the fantastic reviews and the warm reception this story has gotten. Some have felt like the last chapter wasn't quite up to the quality as the rest of the story. Perhaps this is so. I literally had to force the chapter out since action sequences are not particularly my most enjoyable thing to write and I think it showed at times. Add to this, my knowledge of 'End of Evangelion' (the movie) is limited to second hand information and action sequences seen on AMV's. The result being, my frame work wasn't nearly as strong as it was with the rest of the story. My apologies if you felt it was sub-par._

_As for how I dealt with Kaoru, yes, the fight was a bit one-sided. The reasoning for this is that beyond his AT barrier and ability to levitate, Koaru's main offensive capability appeared to be controlling an Eva remotely. By confronting him before he could take possession of an Eva, Ranma pretty much defanged his offensive capability from the beginning. I couldn't see any other way for that battle to go. _

_As for concerns that Ranma receiving an S2 organ making him god-like, I think that's completely unfounded. Getting control of the Nekoken was a much greater power-up. For the purposes of this story, an S2 organ is largely a ki amplifier. The primary effect it has on Ranma is that it allows his ki reserves to last longer and recover faster since he's using less ki to do the same things._

**Chapter 18**

After Misato pulled herself together and the teens were checked out and given a clean bill of health by the medics, Misato sent them to a secure suite inside NERV. Though they were ready to fight on, now that the fight was over, all of them were mentally and emotionally spent. They needed food and rest badly.

After the three of them returned from the cafeteria where they had made the staff there earn their salary, Ranma, Rei, and Asuka lay in each other's arms on the large bed in their suite.

"R-Ranma?" Asuka asked hesitantly. "W-when do you think you'll know if you have to go back?"

"I'm not sure, Koi," Ranma answered. "As far as I know, the world is safe from the Third Impact now. If it happens, I think it will be soon."

"Oh," Asuka said somberly. "I know we're all tired, but do you wanna...you know...just in case we don't get another chance?"

"Yes, I would like that as well," Rei agreed.

Ranma smiled at the girls and began to kiss them. The three of them made desperate love to one another for the next two hours before collapsing, sweaty and spent in each other's arms and drifting off to sleep.

Basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, the girls didn't notice when Ranma began to slowly fade from their world.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Well, now this was unexpected," a familiar female voice said in consternation, startling Ranma awake.

He looked up to see the perplexed face of Bastet regarding him. Then he noticed he was laying on the ground. A quick scan of the surroundings revealed he was laying in the yard of the Tendo home. Then something else penetrated his awareness. It was so common and reassuring for him now, he didn't register it as odd for several moments. Obviously it was the source of Bastet's concern.

Laying beside him, snuggled tightly to each side lay two girls, one with pale, blue hair and one with vibrant red. Joy welled up within Ranma as he realized that while he had been returned to his home reality, the girls he loved had been brought along with him.

Ranma hugged them tightly and in doing so, jostled them awake.

"W-wha?" Asuka asked groggily, noticing she was laying on the ground.

"Where are we?" Rei asked, sounding much more alert.

"I'll be right back," Bastet said, vanishing.

"I think somehow you guys got pulled back to my reality with me," Ranma said in awe. "You know what this means?"

"Does it mean we get to stay with each other?" Asuka asked, hardly daring to hope.

"That would be a reasonable conclusion," Rei observed, then began smiling broadly.

Ranma nodded enthusiastically and matched her smile. However, a moment later, they noticed they were all lying naked in a quite public place. Ranma quietly led them to the dojo so they would be out of sight until he could get them all some clothing.

Before he could go though, Bastet reappeared. Seeing the teens blushing and trying to cover themselves, she grinned and waved her hand. Instantly, Rei and Asuka were wearing fine silk Cheongsams. Rei's was pale blue, matching her hair and was embroidered with a beautiful red and gold phoenix. Asuka's was red and sported a gold and blue dragon. Ranma was wearing his accustomed silk tang and kung fu pants, only in black, and decorated with a red and blue tiger on the back of the tang. The teens were soon fawning over each other about how beautiful the girls looked and how gorgeous Ranma was.

"Ahem," Bastet cleared her throat to get their attention. The goddess couldn't help but smile at the three.

"Who's she, Liebling?" Asuka asked.

"Girls, meet Bastet, Goddess of motherhood, pleasure, and cats," Ranma introduced. "Apparently, she's my patron goddess and she's the one that sent me to your world."

The girls both bowed deeply to Bastet.

"Thank you, Bastet-sama for sending Ranma to us," Rei said.

"Yes, and thank you for not making him leave us," Asuka said.

"Um...yes, about that," Bastet laughed nervously then waved her hands at the alarmed expressions on the teens faces. "Relax, you get to stay together. It wasn't what was supposed to happen, but it seems you've found a way around it."

"Explain," Rei said.

"Evidently, when you and Ranma healed Asuka, you both soul-bonded with Ranma and you and Asuka both acquired a piece of his soul," Bastet explained. "That was enough to cause you both to be pulled back with him. When that happened, The Ultimate Force, which is more powerful than any god or goddess and is responsible for preventing paradoxes that could damage the fabric of reality, moved to correct the fact that the two of you shouldn't exist here by establishing your existence."

"Huh?" Ranma asked adroitly.

"They now have an identity and history here," Bastet grinned, handing each girl an envelope. "It's a pretty sweet deal too. Asuka has all her degrees and Rei has some of her own. You all have the funds you were paid by NERV in bank accounts in your names. That comes out to a substantial piece of wealth in this economy so the three of you are quite well off. Asuka and Rei are emancipated minors as well."

"Awesome!" Asuka cheered.

"Yes," Bastet smiled. "Well, there is a downside. The pair of you are about to be dropped into the chaos of Ranma's life here. It won't be easy. As for you, Blessed One, I am proud of you. You have learned what I wished for you to learn and I expect you to keep on learning, and not just martial arts. Now, it's nearly time to face the music, so I have to be going. They all watched your adventures so they know what happened to you. One last thing, take your time, but in the next few years, I do expect kittens..."

Bastet faded away, laughing at the blushing teens. No sooner than the goddess was gone, the shoji door to the dojo slid open.

"Ran...ma," Akane stammered. "Ranma! You're back! Hey! Everyone! Ranma's back!" Akane yelled toward the house.

Ranma didn't quite know what to expect. He had been away for over a year from his perspective so much of the conditioning that had been repeatedly pounded into him had faded. However, having his arms full of excited, uncute tomboy was definitely not on his list of possibilities.

"Oh Ranma, you really did it!" Akane gushed. "We saw the whole thing on video. You managed to change the whole ending and save everyone! Well, almost everyone. That was so sad about Dr. Akagi, but she really turned herself around from how she was. She was very selfless and I was proud of her!"

Chaos erupted as the rest of the Tendo household burst into the dojo with Genma in the lead.

"Boy! How could you be so weak as to allow yourself to be banished from your family duty!" the Fat Panda bellowed. "You must restore your honor by marrying Akane immediately!"

"Waaahhh, Ranma's back and the schools will finally be joined!" the Human Flood added.

"Welcome home, Ranma-kun," Kasumi greeted pleasantly.

"Yes, welcome home, my manly son," Nodoka chimed in.

"Really, Saotome, you've collected more girls?" Nabiki said, causing everyone to freeze as they noticed the two additional girls sitting near Ranma.

"Um...well...yeah, I couldn't just leave them behind," Ranma laughed nervously. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Langley Sohryu."

"Ranma! How dare you cheat on my little girl!" Soun's demon-head screamed.

After facing the horrors that Ranma had, Soun's technique impressed the pigtailed warrior not a bit. However, when Genma jumped in and began lamenting about his dishonorable son, Ranma became annoyed.

"SILENCE!" Ranma commanded, projecting an aura of, well...Absolute Terror.

The two older men pissed themselves and cowered as Ranma seemed to loom over them in spite of the fact that he was shorter than both.

"Hold it a second, Saotome, it says here that Rei is our cousin?" Nabiki asked, looking through the papers they had been given. "How could she possibly be our cousin? She's a fictional character from an anime."

"Not anymore," Ranma smirked. "Call it Divine Intervention."

"Oh my, does this mean you will be taking up the engagement on behalf of the Tendo family, Rei-san?" Kasumi asked serenely.

"If Ranma wishes it, I will gladly agree to such an arrangement," Rei responded.

"What about you?" Nabiki directed at Asuka. "Are you going to be chasing him too?"

"Ranma is my best friend," Asuka shrugged. "I love him dearly. Rei and I both decided that we would never make him choose between us. Besides, I love her as much as Ranma, so I don't see a problem with the three of us being together."

"I too am not adverse to sharing Ranma with Asuka-chan," Rei added. "We are bonded to each other on a profound level."

"My son is so manly!" Nodoka cried, whipping out her victory fans and dancing around the room.

"Right," Asuka agreed. "Besides, Ranma is twice the man anyone else is so it all works out."

The redhead grinned triumphantly and high-fived Rei behind Ranma's head.

"Some would say Ranma was only half a man," Nabiki smirked.

"Ranma's condition does not bother me," Rei said. "Nor does it affect his manhood. Also, is it not desirable to be in a relationship with a set of twins?"

Rei's lips quirked up slightly. With her dry delivery, it was the only indication that she had just cracked a joke. As such, only Asuka and Ranma caught the humorous intent, leaving the others to gape as the two of them began laughing hysterically. Rei's smile became noticeable as she watched her friends appreciate her sense of humor.

When Kasumi joined them in their mirth, Akane and Nabiki found their faces firmly planted on the floor.

"Oh my, Rei-san. You're so funny," Kasumi giggled innocently.

"Ranma will marry Akane!" Genma bellowed, his stupidity overriding his sense of self-preservation, there by proving that Genma's stupidity was boundless.

"Quite right, Saotome," Soun added, also proving that the stupidity was infectious.

"Nonsense, Father," Kasumi said. "It's Ranma's choice and he is obviously quite taken with Rei-san and Asuka-san. Akane, you don't have any objection to Rei-san taking your place, do you?"

"I-I...I guess not," Akane stammered. "If the perverted jerk wants them, then that's his choice." Akane added a small smile to show that, while disappointed, she was willing to let it go.

"Thank you, Akane-san," Rei said, bowing to her.

Akane returned the bow. Contrary to popular belief, Akane was a romantic at heart and she had seen the three of them come together on the video. In spite of her feelings of jealousy, watching Ranma try so hard to befriend them, she thought it was beautiful how they came to care for each other. If Ranma had tried that hard with her, she was sure that they would have been deeply in love by now. It irked her that she watched Ranma become the man she always wanted on that video, but she found she couldn't blame him. Instead, she decided that she would just be his friend and be happy for him.

"B-but what about me, Ran-chan?" Ukyo stammered.

Ranma looked at her compassionately.

"Sorry, Ucchan," Ranma said. "You were always my best friend, but I love you like a sister, not like I love Rei and Asuka."

"B-but what about my dowry? What about the ten years I wasted looking for you?" Ukyo asked bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Ukyo," Ranma said somberly. "I can try to pay you back for the dowry, but the rest you have to take up with the one that ripped you off."

"That's right, Dear," Nodoka said. "I already said that I've dissolved all Ranma's engagements. You shall just have to speak with my husband about compensating you for his duplicity, although, some of the blame rests with your father as well. He knew fully well that Ranma was already obligated to another arrangement when he offered your yattai as a dowry. He expected for my family to dishonor another agreement in favor of his. He knew an agreement based on dishonor had no honor itself."

"But..." Ukyo said, searching for some way to salvage this. "My father...he will never let me return without revenge or Ranma's hand in marriage."

"If he should disown you, Dear," Nodoka grinned, her eyes gleaming at the prospect of another source of grandbabies, "I would be happy to adopt you into our clan as the sister that Ranma feels you to be."

Ukyo shuddered at the unholy light in Nodoka's eyes and quickly decided to quit while she was ahead.

Shampoo decided it was her turn. She wasn't quite sure how to deal with this situation. On the one hand, the odd, blue-haired girl and Airen's twin were obstacles. Everyone knows 'obstacles are for killing'. On the other hand, something told her that any attacks on them would make her Airen very angry. Airen was also a blooded warrior now, something of a respected status in the Amazon tribe and someone that was not to be trifled with. Still, she had to know something.

"Is true what Airen said? Airen really want to forget about Shampoo?" the purple-haired Amazon asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, not recalling the incident Shampoo was referring to.

"Is true Airen no love Shampoo?" she asked again.

Ranma looked extremely uncomfortable. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he looked down.

"You hunted his female form across China," Rei spoke up. "You threatened his friends and family, and then used deceitful tactics in order to force him into a relationship."

"If you ask me, you're asking the wrong question," Asuka chimed in, her tone harsh. "You should all be asking his forgiveness for what you put him through."

Shampoo bristled at this.

"Is Shampoo's husband!" she insisted. "Is law! No need ask husband for forgiveness!"

Cologne sighed tiredly as she saw Ranma's eyes come up and harden.

"Which is exactly why I would never marry you, Shampoo," Ranma growled. "You see me the same as Pop sees you; inferior because of my gender and not worth your respect as a person. No Shampoo, I don't love you. There's been times I really debated whether or not I could even be friends with you given the casual way you view use of lethal force. You haven't crossed that line so far, so I'm still willing to be friends with you, but I'll never be your husband."

"You already is," Shampoo insisted. "Is law!"

"I don't recognize your laws," Ranma snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, we're not in your little village anymore. You have no power to enforce your laws on me. If you did, I would have been hauled back to China a long time ago."

"He is quite correct, Shampoo, though I am loath to admit it," Cologne said sadly. "I had hoped you would have realized that before now."

"But Great Grandmother..." Shampoo argued.

"No buts, Shampoo," Cologne said. "A warrior knows when the battle is lost. I won't let your stubbornness alienate as powerful a potential ally as the three of them are. I am dissolving the Kiss of Marriage. You have already paid for your failure to fulfill the Kiss of Death, so Ranma is no longer subject to that either. Don't let your foolish pride lead you into another situation you cannot hope to win."

"But Great Grandmother cannot dissolve Kiss of Marriage!" Shampoo argued. "Is not allowed!"

"It is if the circumstances in which it had been given were questionable," Cologne stated. "And these certainly were. Ranma never defeated you in a formal challenge aside from the one that led to the Kiss of Death, in fact, he never defeated you at all. You were knocked out by your own weapon, which you shamefully failed to avoid when it was broken. Therefore, you had no grounds to give him the Kiss of Marriage to begin with."

Shampoo looked at the ground in shame.

"Excuse me, but if that's true than why did you allow this girl to pursue my son for so long?" Nodoka asked.

"The answer is simple," Cologne chuckled. "Ranma is quite frankly the most talented martial artist I've ever seen. As long as he hadn't made a decision, there was still a chance to get him into the tribe and take him as the heir to my knowledge of the art. Also, watching the chaos that takes place around him was the most amusing time I've had in years."

"But how could I be your heir when...?" Ranma asked.

"You're male?" Cologne chuckled. "Surely you've realized that males are permitted to be warriors in the tribe. How else would you explain Mousse? That, and given your curse, you could have achieved honorary female status among the warriors. As to why I wanted you for the heir to my art, I'm sad to say that Shampoo will never be your equal in the art, so while she would have been my political heir, you would have been the heir to my most powerful Amazon techniques."

"Elder, I don't know what to say," Ranma said, stunned. "You honor me. I'm sorry I can't take you up on that."

"Easy come, easy go, Ranma," Cologne smiled. "It will be enough for me if you would consider the Amazon people in a friendly manner in the future."

"I'd like that, Elder," Ranma said respectfully. "You have helped me out when I needed it."

Meanwhile, Shampoo was fuming. She had had her heart broken, been told she would never be the equal of a mere male, and would now have to face going back to the village in disgrace yet again. She would have vengeance.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The next day found Ranma, Rei, and Asuka moved into the Saotome house in Chofu. Genma had been forbidden to return until he made restitution to all those he had duped during the training trip. They were currently on their way to meet the Tendo sisters at the ice cream parlor to celebrate Ranma's return.

"I can't believe that went as well as it did," Ranma mentioned again. "I mean, no fights broke out or anything."

"I am pleased," Rei said. "I am very pleased that Asuka-chan and I got to stay with you, Koishii."

"I'm pretty thrilled about that myself," Ranma said, giving the girls a squeeze with her arms around their waists and ignoring the odd looks the three of them were getting from the populous.

"So what are we gonna do now, Liebling?" Asuka asked.

"Well, I suppose I have to finish school," Ranma said. "Are you sure you guys really want to go with me?"

"Well, it can't be that hard," Asuka smirked. "And I still need to work on my Kanji if I'm gonna live here in Japan."

"Yes, attending school with you will help us become familiar with this world," Rei stated.

"Yeah, well, at least Jin Dai is a normal High School," Ranma said wryly. "I can't say I'm upset about leaving Furinkan and its craziness behind."

"But I meant after we graduate?" Asuka said. "What are your plans, Liebling?"

"I-I don't know," Ranma said hesitantly. "I mean I'm kinda sick of the whole war and international intrigue thing, ya know? And somehow just running a dojo seems a little tame after all that. How about you two?"

"I dunno, Liebling," Asuka said seriously. "I mean I do have my degree in science, but like you said, I have a hard time seeing myself as just a scientist. I hadn't really given much thought to what I wanted to do beyond piloting an Eva. Maybe police work? I kinda like the idea of taking down bad guys."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all," Ranma agreed. "I might have to think about that for myself as well. What about you, Rei-chan?"

"I-I do not know," Rei said, blushing. "I never considered living past the purpose I was created for." Rei smiled a small smile. "Perhaps I can stay home and take care of the 'kittens'?"

Ranma and Asuka burst into gales of laughter.

"You'd be a great Mom, Rei-chan," Ranma said affectionately.

"Do you really think so?" Rei asked, blushing self-consciously.

"Yup," Ranma nodded. "I think both of you would."

Ranma grinned happily, noticing that both girls were now blushing.

"Yo, Saotome!" Ranma turned and saw Nabiki waving to her as she, Akane, and Kasumi hurried to catch up.

"Hey, 'Biki, Kasumi, Akane," Ranma smiled.

"Hello, girls," Kasumi smiled pleasantly. "I'm so happy you made it. How was the train ride?"

"It was okay," Ranma said.

"Yeah, at least we got to ride on the female-only car to avoid the perverts," Asuka quipped. There was a rash of broken male fingers on the train the previous day when Ranma, the girls, and Nodoka had traveled home.

"I hate boys," Akane growled, then grinned to show she was joking...mostly. "I just wish I could get away from Furinkan High too. I'm worried that things are going to go back to how they were before Ranma got here with the morning fights with the hentai-horde."

"I'll be happy to be away from the Kuno's and their insanity as well," Ranma said. "If it does start again, maybe you can move to Chofu and go to Jin-Dai with us too."

"You'd really let me move in with you guys after the way I treated you, Ranma?" Akane asked in surprise.

"We were in a bad situation, Akane," Ranma smiled reassuringly. "It brought out the worst in us, but I always considered you a friend. I might have even loved you as more than a sister. If I can do anything to help you or your sisters out, you only have to ask."

"Does that mean you're buying my ice cream today, Saotome?" Nabiki smirked. "I'm a little short on cash lately."

Ranma snorted.

"Nabiki? Short on cash? That'll be the day," Ranma laughed.

"Well, you can't blame a girl for trying," Nabiki giggled.

The five other girls laughed as they continued on to the ice cream shop. They almost made it there when a familiar figure stood in their path bringing them up short.

"Ukyo?" Ranma greeted tentatively.

The girl looked up, meeting Ranma's eyes.

"Hiya, Ran-chan," the chef said softly. "I was wondering, do you think I might join you guys?"

"Depends on who's joining us," Asuka answered. "We'd be happy to have Ranma's best childhood friend join us. On the other hand, we'd be less happy about a girl that wants to use that friendship to try and guilt Ranma into being her fiancée."

"I promise, I just want my friend back," Ukyo said, her eyes shimmering with tears. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you, Ran-chan. I didn't understand what we were doing to you because I was so caught up in the competition."

"It's okay, Ucchan," Ranma said softly. "I forgive you. I didn't help things either. I just didn't know how to handle the situation and I was too afraid to hurt any of you."

Ranma opened her arms to Ukyo and Ukyo timidly stepped up to her. Then the two old friends were hugging one another.

"Thank you, Ran-chan," Ukyo said tearfully. "I'm glad you still want to be my friend."

"Always was, always will be, Ucchan," Ranma said comfortingly.

It was a very bad day for the ice cream industry in Nerima that day. Seven attractive girls descended on the place and reduced the counter boys to a mass of quivering hormones resulting in loads of free extras. Between the Revised Anything Goes Uber-Cute Twin attack, Nabiki's powers of persuasion, and Kasumi's smile, it was a miracle that the deed to the shop wasn't given away for free. Not that Nabiki didn't try; she wasn't one to miss an opportunity.

Ranma sat back and looked around her as the seven girls chatted and giggled together. She was filled with a profound sense of joy and pride. Things were finally turning around for her and she was very thankful to Bastet-sama for making it possible.

Suddenly, Rei and Asuka leaned over and kissed her on the cheeks, smearing her face with their ice cream covered lips. The other customers in the shop looked at them strangely as the seven girls all howled with laughter.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

"Wow," Ranma said again. "You guys look drop-dead gorgeous in those uniforms."

"Thanks, Liebling," Asuka smiled happily. "I'm not sure though. These skirts are awfully short."

The trio was headed to their first day of school at Jin Dai High and the girls were wearing their new school uniforms which consisted of a short, pleated, teal-blue mini-skirt and a double-breasted, off-white blazer. The skirt wasn't quite as short as one a cheerleader's uniform might have, but it wasn't far off and the long, shapely legs of both girls were displayed to perfection.

"You won't hear me complaining," Ranma grinned and squeezed their hands affectionately.

"Oh I don't know about that, Variable-chan," Asuka smirked. "I bet we'll hear a lot of complaining when we get you into one."

Ranma paled as he realized it would be inevitable. He could refuse the pair of them nothing and the way Asuka said that left it clear that he would be wearing the revealing uniform at some point.

"SHI SHI HOKODAN!" the shout snapped Ranma out of his nervous contemplation.

Before he had time to react, all three of them were slammed by the ki blast and sent tumbling into a wall surrounding a home.

"Are you guys okay?" Ranma asked Rei and Asuka with urgent concern.

"I am well," Rei answered.

"What the hell was that?" Asuka demanded.

"Rrrrryoga," Ranma snarled, fully in 'protect mate' mode, ki claws forming and his pupils narrowing to slits. He quickly spun and projected his AT/ki barrier, causing the charging Lost Boy to crash into it and bounce back onto his rear. "Rrrryoga! What the hell do you think you'rrrre doing?" Ranma hissed at the boy. "You could have hurt the girls, you jackass!"

"You shouldn't have tried to hide behind them, you cowardly dog!" Ryoga shouted, leaping to his feet. "Because of you, Akane hates me! Prepare to die, Ranma!"

"I'm not playing with you anymore, Ryoga," Ranma growled. "You insist on endangering innocent bystanders, you constantly blame me for problems you caused yourself, and you attack without warning, like the dishonorable trash you arrrre. This will stop even if I have to cripple you to stop it. Do you understand?"

"Shut up and die, Ranma!" Ryoga yelled and attacked with his umbrella.

Ranma dodged the strike and negligently flicked his hand toward the umbrella. His ki claws neatly sectioned the weapon leaving only a short section of handle in Ryoga's hand. Ryoga threw the remains of the weapon at Ranma and began to attack him with kicks and punches. Ranma flowed around the blows while delivering his own punishment. The only thing keeping Ryoga in the fight was his extreme durability. While he couldn't hit Ranma, he was able to shrug off Ranma's strikes as if they were nothing.

Frustrated with his inability to hit his hated nemesis, Ryoga stabbed a finger at the ground, unleashing the Bakusai Tenketsu. Ranma quickly threw up his AT barrier to deflect the shrapnel.

"Ranma! Look out!" Asuka yelled.

From behind Ranma, Mousse appeared and launched a swarm of shuriken at the pigtailed warrior's unprotected back. Ranma moved with cat-like agility, dropping to the ground and releasing the AT barrier. The shuriken flashed through the space Ranma had been in and not finding their target continued on. Ryoga was caught off guard and suddenly found himself in the path of the weapons. He threw up his arms to protect his vital areas and several of the spikes embedded themselves in his forearms and legs.

"Ranma, for disgracing Shampoo, I will kill you!" Mousse screamed, ignoring the fact he had just hit his ally with his attack.

"Fool! You couldn't beat me before and you can't beat me now!" Ranma snarled. "This shit is getting real old, you know that?"

Ranma maneuvered himself where he could see both his opponents. Ryoga wasn't looking too good as he began plucking the shuriken out. As the Lost Boy removed the last shuriken, he collapsed. Mousse began to grin wickedly and Ranma assumed that the shuriken had been coated with some sort of drug to knock him out.

"I might not be able to beat you, Ranma, but I don't have to," Mousse declared.

Suddenly, the wall behind Asuka and Rei blew outward, knocking them down with the shower of debris.

"ASUKA! REI!" Ranma shouted. He could tell they weren't seriously hurt, but he was furious that they had been attacked yet again.

"Shampoo kill husband-stealer sluts!" Shampoo said, leaping through the hole she'd made; bonbori at the ready.

Asuka rolled out of the way as the vengeful Amazon viciously swung the bonbori at her head. The sidewalk cracked as the blow narrowly missed the German girl. Rei used her AT barrier to deflect a blow sent her way as she struggled to her feet.

"Weird tricks not help you against Shampoo," Shampoo snapped.

"Shampoo, stop this right now," Ranma commanded. "If you hurt either of them, I'll make you suffer for a LONG time!"

"Shampoo already disgraced. Suffering no matter to Shampoo," Shampoo said angrily.

"You may be disgraced but at least you can still fight," Ranma growled icily. "How would you like to experience the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion?"

"Shampoo no worried," Shampoo said confidently. "Great Grandmother know counter."

"Yeah, but are you sure she'd use it if I told her why I applied it?" Ranma questioned.

"Of course," Shampoo said. "It no matter if Shampoo kill weak outsider womans."

"Then you really are the brainless twit you sound like," Ranma answered.

"I won't let you talk that way to Shampoo!" Mousse cried and attacked.

"MOUKO TAKABISHA!" Ranma shouted and fired a ball of red-gold energy at Mousse.

The myopic Amazon was caught in mid-leap and sent crashing through a stone wall before being stopped by another. He collapsed, unconscious, and wouldn't be rejoining the fight anytime soon.

It was then that the police arrived from the neighborhood Koban responding to reports of a disturbance.

"What's going on here?" the ranking officer demanded.

"We were on our way to school when these people attacked us, Officer," Asuka explained, not taking her eyes off Shampoo.

"You no interfere," Shampoo snarled at the police. "This woman to woman fight."

"There's not going to be anymore fighting," the officer in charge declared. "This isn't an arena. It's a city street. You are all coming with us for disturbing the peace and destruction of private property."

The officer took a step toward Shampoo, who whirled on him with her weapons at ready.

"Shampoo say you no interfere. Now Shampoo teach foolish males their place," the Amazon said menacingly.

"If that's the way you want it," the officers took out their tonfa.

"WAIT!" Ranma shouted at the officers. "Don't get near her, she's way too skilled for you. Please let me handle this. I can put her down."

Naturally, the officers, not having seen the things their counterparts in Nerima had, didn't listened to the pigtailed boy's entreaty. They approached the purple-haired Amazon with the intent to subdue her. They soon found out they were woefully outclassed as the first one came within range and got sent flying by a bonbori to the gut.

They instantly backed off and one went to check on their comrade while the rest pulled their service revolvers.

"Drop the weapons NOW!" the ranking officer commanded. "Don't make us have to shoot you!"

"Officer, please, let me take her down?" Ranma pleaded. "I can make sure nobody else gets hurt!"

"Stay out of this, Son," the policeman said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Officer," Ranma sighed. "As much of a pain in the ass as she is, I won't let her get shot when I can stop her. Rei, Asuka, protect the officers."

With that, Ranma blurred from sight. Shampoo found herself flying through the air holding the severed handles of her bonbori. Her flight was abruptly stopped as she found herself slammed into the ground on her stomach and then she felt a searing pain on her back. She began screaming in her native tongue as she realized what had been done to her. She attempted to push herself up, but was unable to due to Ranma's foot resting lightly on her back.

"It's over, Officers," Ranma called out. "You can come take her into custody now. She's not a threat to you anymore."

The policemen cautiously approached the downed Amazon and quickly cuffed her. She struggled but her attempts to break free were pitiful now that her strength was sealed.

Ranma went over and performed the Moxibustion on Mousse as well before dragging him back out to the street. He then moved to Ryoga, intent on the same treatment. It was then that he realized how badly this had all gone. Whatever was on those shuriken was deadly. The Lost Boy had fought his last fight.

"GODAMMIT!" Ranma roared in anger. "They killed him!" Ranma spat when everyone looked at him in question. "He was a pig-headed moron but he didn't deserve to die!"

The police quickly came over to check on the fallen boy to confirm Ranma's statement. Ranma warned them not to touch the shuriken because of the poison he was certain they'd find on them.

"Who killed him?" the lead officer asked.

"The one in the robes, Mousse, threw them at me," Ranma said sadly. "This one, his name was Ryoga Hibiki, was trying to distract me so I wouldn't be able to avoid them. I ducked. He didn't and got hit with several of them. I didn't think any of them were serious wounds. When he collapsed, I figured the shuriken had some sort of drug on them to put him to sleep."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The Chofu division of the Japanese National Police got a crash course on things their Nerima counterparts dealt with on a daily basis. The curses were demonstrated, as was Ranma's ability to produce a ball of ki. They were, quite frankly, stupefied that such things existed and had no clue how to deal with it.

In the end, they called up the Nerima division for advice. What they were told didn't sit well with them. The Nerima division followed a hands-off policy. They allowed the martial arts community to police themselves given the fact that they were ill-equipped to deal with people with as much power as the martial artist that resided there.

The fact that there had been a death changed things a bit. The police had to be involved under the circumstances. Fortunately, Ranma had rendered the suspect impotent to escape custody.

Cologne arrived a couple hours after the attack looking grim.

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Cologne said somberly. "I had no idea they were planning something like this."

"The question is, what do you plan to do about it?" Ranma asked, his anger and frustration clear. "Ryoga was killed over this foolishness. It has to stop."

"And so it shall," Cologne agreed. "I understand that you used the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion on them both?"

"I did," Ranma admitted.

"I expect that they will both be deported," Cologne said. "If that happens then I'll be using the Cat's Tongue on Mousse. I'll be leaving Shampoo's strength locked for now as a punishment for disobeying me. She will have to face the council to receive punishment for defying an Elder's orders. She'll be lucky if she doesn't get her curse locked as well."

"Frankly, Cologne, I don't care what happens to them as long as they don't come back here again," Ranma sighed. "They crossed the line. The next time they come after me or my girls, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Understood, Ranma," Cologne said grimly.

"Please understand, Elder, I can't tolerate this stuff anymore," Ranma said. "I want to have a family someday and I can't risk my children being hurt when some obsessed idiot feels the need to attack me for some asinine reason."

"You are a blooded warrior now, Ranma," Cologne said seriously. "I wouldn't expect any less. You've grown a lot since you got sent to that other world. I respect that."

"Thanks, Cologne," Ranma replied. "I just hope this is the last of the fools from Nerima, but I don't think I've heard the last of the Kuno's. I'm afraid I might have to follow through on my threat to be through with them."

"Actually, the Kuno boy shouldn't be a concern," Cologne grinned.

"Oh?" Ranma asked.

"It seems when young Akane...er...rejected his advances while you were gone, the loss of his...virility...had much the same effect as when a dog is neutered," Cologne cackled. "It calmed him right down. I understand he's keeping a very low profile now."

"I can't say I feel sorry for him, but I am sorry it had to come to that," Ranma commented. "Kodachi could still be a nuisance though."

"True. However, while the Kuno's may get a pass in Nerima, I doubt they will receive the same benefits here in Chofu," Cologne pointed out. "Were she to make herself a threat to you here, you could always handle her the same way you dealt with Shampoo and Mousse. The authorities could then deal with her."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Ranma said. "That still leaves Happosai and Taro though."

"I wouldn't worry too much about Happi," Cologne chuckled. "He knows when he's out matched. Ever since you came back your aura has been as bright as the sun to anyone that can sense it. The same with those girls of yours. He won't bother you much. It'd be more trouble than it's worth to him. As for Taro, I'm afraid he is someone you may have to deal with."

**(oO\O/Oo)**

After spending the day at the police station being questioned, Ranma and the girls were released. Ranma was even unofficially thanked for his assistance in subduing Shampoo.

"While I know this was not your fault, Son," Nodoka said as they walked home, "I don't wish for you spending the day at the police station to become a habit. It's unseemly."

"Believe me, Mom, I don't want it to be a habit either," Ranma said. "I'm just worried that more of Pop's stupidity will come lookin' for me."

"He had better hope for his sake it doesn't," Nodoka said darkly.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

The following weeks went by without incident. The trio actually managed to make it to school. Ranma, Rei, and Asuka all joined the Martial Arts Club. Asuka also went out for the softball team and made it.

The three had caused quite a stir when it became clear that both girls were dating Ranma. Several of the guys took exception to this, but a few casual displays of power deterred all but the more determined. Ranma was quite amazed that no obsessive loons came out of the woodwork to attempt to claim Rei or Asuka.

The only trouble Ranma had was with the school gangs. They had sought to assert their dominance, but had quickly found they had bitten off more than they could chew. Ranma quickly tracked down the leaders of the gangs and promised if their gang gave him any trouble, or if he caught them bullying other non-gang members, he would personally come by and make it painful for the gang leader.

"If you and the other gangs want to cause each other trouble, I couldn't care less," Ranma told them. "But you won't do it on school property and you won't harass innocents or I'll harass you...painfully."

It took a few demonstrations of Ranma's resolve, but eventually the gang activity was greatly curtailed. The Chofu police were impressed with the drop in the juvenile crime rates.

**(oO\O/Oo)**

It was a month and a half after Ranma returned with the girls that it happened. Rei came out of the bathroom one morning looking vaguely distressed.

"What's wrong, Rei?" Ranma asked, concerned.

"I-I appear to be bleeding," Rei said shakily. "From down there." She gestured toward her abdomen.

Ranma looked at Asuka, who looked back at Ranma.

"Asuka-chan, I think it's your turn to handle this one," Ranma prodded.

"Oh, no, Variable-chan. You did such a good job with me, I think you should explain it to Rei-chan," Asuka smirked.

"But I'm a guy," Ranma said in an overly-reasonable tone. "I shouldn't have to explain it. Rei-chan would be much more comfortable if YOU explained it to her."

"But you're more experienced than I am with it," Asuka pointed out, "so you should be the one to explain it."

"I would suggest that SOMEBODY explain it, before I become unpleasant," Rei said ominously.

"Explain what, Dear?" Nodoka asked, coming in the room.

Ranma and Asuka looked at each other and grinned.

"Mom, Rei-chan's having...you know..." Ranma said blushing.

"Female issues," Asuka added, "Her first time."

"I see," Nodoka smiled.

"Right, and since I'm a guy, I didn't think it would be too manly if I had to explain to her what to do," Ranma pointed out.

"But you did such a fine job with Asuka-chan, Dear," Nodoka smirked.

"That's what I said," Asuka said smugly.

"Indeed," Nodoka continued, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "So there won't be any problems explaining to your co-wife what to do then, right, Dear?"

"EEP!" Asuka backpedaled. "Actually, Mom, we were thinking that since you're the mom and you've had a lot more experience that maybe you could explain it to Rei-chan."

Meanwhile, nobody noticed Rei's lips compress into a thin line or that her eyes had narrowed slightly. They did notice when a loud crash came from the backyard.

"I better go check that out," Ranma said quickly, thankful for the excuse.

"Not without me you're not," Asuka added hastily.

"My garden!" Nodoka exclaimed, rushing to follow Ranma and Asuka.

Rei stood silently looking at the now empty room. The sound of grinding teeth could be heard as her hands clenched into fists.

Outside, Ranma discovered that Taro had decided that today would be a good day for a visit. In cursed form, he had crashed through the back wall and was trampling Nodoka's garden. Regrettably for him, he had an unfortunate sense of timing.

Before anyone had time to do anything, the shoji doors blew open and out stalked a blue-haired fury, complete with glowing red eyes and hair that floated around her head as if being blown by a strong updraft.

"Dageki no Shinku Tenshi!" Rei spoke sharply. (Strike of the Crimson Angel)

Suddenly, where Taro was standing, a huge, thirty-foot high, cross-shaped explosion bloomed violently, launching Taro into LEO and forming a ten-foot crater about three feet deep.

"Whoa," Ranma breathed in awe as he watched Taro disappear in the distance, trailing smoke.

"Now then, would someone like to tell me what I need to know, or shall I be forced to become...disagreeable?" Rei asked, a clear tone of menace in her voice.

Needless to say, Rei was quickly filled in on what she needed to know. Further, it was agreed that irritating the crimson-eyed girl when she had PMS was definitely in the 'for the love of God, please don't do' category.

The End

**AN: **_And so it concludes. I hope you enjoyed it. I know there's probably some questions you are asking at this point. _

_What happened to the rest of the NGE cast left behind? Who knows? Feel free to divine your own philosophical theory about what became of them._

_Here's some food for thought about the future. Ranma has an S2 organ. Rei has an S2 organ. Will their kids have one as well? Will Asuka and Ranma's kids have one? How about this thought...Ranma and family move to Chofu about 15-20 years before a certain somber sergeant arrives at Jin Dai high. A certain tomboy has teal blue hair and her best friend is named Kyouko (which was Asuka's mother's name). Coincidence? Perhaps, but that, as they say, is another story._

_Thank you so much for reading._

_Calamity_


End file.
